There are a lot of people pissed at Warner Bros. right now. Directors, actors, theater exhibitors, other studios, and all because of their streaming plans in 2021. Know who is not pissed at them? Movie fans, who WB has been catering to pretty hardcore recently with Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the ability to see next year’s blockbusters on HBO Max, and now this anticipated news: the Mad Max: Fury Road prequel Furiosa now has a release date.
Furiosa, George Miller’s followup to Mad Max: Fury Road, has been set to open on June 23rd 2023, right in the middle of what we hope will be a normal summer blockbuster movie season.
Anya Taylor-Joy takes over the Imperator Furiosa role played so convincingly by Charlize Theron in the 2015 film. She’s joined by Chris Hemsworth and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Don’t expect to see Theron or Tom Hardy back reprising their roles in any way, at least not that we know, which is precious little at this point.
This was by no means guaranteed, despite the first movie becoming a sensation with some of the year’s best reviews. It earned $375M worldwide (China didn’t even show it), which made it only a mild success because the production went way overbudget due to a variety of challenges. Miller had planned on doing two separate followups, one a direct sequel and another a prequel, but it appears at this point only the latter is happening. But if Furiosa is a smash hit, know that this franchise is far from over.
The release date should give Miller enough time to finish his current project, Three Thousand Years of Longing, which he’s shooting with stars Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton.
Warner Bros. also announced dates for two different films, a Looney Tunes Coyote vs. Acme film on July 21st 2023, and the Spielberg/Winfrey-produced remake of The Color Purple on December 20th 2023.
