The fourth installment of the post-apocalyptic action franchise Mad Max: Fury Road was released to unanimous appreciation. The film earned over $380 million at the box office and was a surprise hit. George Miller’s action film was released twenty years after its predecessor and he recast Mel Gibson as the titular Max, casting Tom Hardy in his place.

The other breakout role was that of Imperator Furiosa, played to perfect by Charlize Theron. Theron was universally appreciated for her amazing performance and the character is also receiving its own spin-off. While it is impossible to see anyone else playing the role, George Miller had a bizarre set of choices for the role, including pop sensation Rihanna.

How Did George Miller Develop Mad Max: Fury Road?

George Miller

George Miller started devising a fourth Mad Max film after the release of the third, Mad Max: Beyond The Thunderdome. Though it was a moderate success at the box office, the film had a lasting legacy. Miller wanted to make a film where the plot would be a continuous chase. After twelve years, Miller finally figured out a plot for the film and started working on it.

He first made a storyboard of the film with over 3,500 panels. His idea was to get the visuals first and then write the screenplay. The finished film has roughly the same number of shots. Miller started pre-production of the film in the early 2000s. However, the September 11 attacks as well as the Iraq War postponed the film.

Miller tried to convert the feature into an animated film, with an anime-inspired style. He stated that part of the Fury Road plot would be incorporated into the storyline. However, Miller became interested in making it into a live-action film instead.

Casting Mad Max

Tom Hardy as Mad Max

When George Miller tried to reignite the project, lead actor Mel Gibson was a pariah in the industry due to his controversial off-screen image. So, Miller decided to recast. The casting process reportedly took years with many actors who were up and coming then being auditioned for the role.

In the book ‘Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road’ by Kyle Buchanan, casting director Ronna Kress said about the casting for Max,
“For Max, we looked at Michael Fassbender, Jeremy Renner, Armie Hammer — and these are the people we didn’t cast. Joel Kinnaman didn’t even have an American agent at the time; he was just out of Scandinavia.”
Since it was an Australian film, the crew looked at native actors such as Heath Ledger and Eric Bana. While Miller was keen on casting Ledger for the role and had discussed it with him multiple times the actor’s untimely death put those plans to bed. For a moment, Miller also considered rapper Eminem for the role, after seeing his performance in 8 Mile. However, he did not want to leave America. Tom Hardy was finally cast as Max.

Rihanna Was Considered For The Role Of Furiosa

Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road

While Eminem was a bizarre consideration in itself, George Miller also considered the rapper’s ‘The Monster’ co-singer Rihanna for the role of Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road. The character was read for by many actresses, according to Ronna Kress, including Ruth Negga and Gal Gadot.

Miller wanted to see what the pop icon could bring to the table as Furiosa. So he set up a meeting with her. He was also reportedly impressed with her persona. According to Miller,
“Usually, actors turn up dressed very casually, but boy, Rihanna looked spectacular when she walked in…I’m not sure she was even aware of the content of the movie, so she dressed up as Rihanna, which was the right thing to do.”
The role was finally given to Charlize Theron, who in hindsight was the perfect choice for Furiosa. Her powerful performance is one of the reasons for Mad Max: Fury Road’s immense success. Rihanna has also gone over to films since then and was most recently seen in the Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett starrer Ocean’s 8.