Furiosa: Lachy Hulme, the new Immortan Joe, teases the epic scope of the film

When director George Miller needed to fill the role of Immortan Joe in Mad Max: Fury Road, he turned to actor Hugh Keays-Byrne, who had previously played the villainous Toecutter in the original Mad Max. Sadly, Keays-Byrne passed away in 2020, before Miller could get the prequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga into production – so in this movie, which is set to reach theatres on May 24, the role of Immortan Joe is being played by Lachy Hulme. Hulme’s casting in the role was confirmed by Empire, and they also scored a great quote from Hulme about the scope of the film. He told them Furiosa is “David Lean, but with motorbikes instead of camels. When you see 4,000 custom-made motorbikes come over a hill, you shit your pants.“

Hulme pulls double duty in the Furiosa, as he also plays a character called Rizzdale Pell, who is “one of the gang members affiliated with Chris Hemsworth’s warlord Dementus.” We’ve heard Dementus is “a pretty horrible individual.”

Directed by Miller from a screenplay he wrote with Nico Lathouris, Furiosa has the following synopsis: As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland they come across the Citadel presided over by the Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home. The story is said to take place over a span of fifteen years.

Hulme (Offspring) and Hemsworth (Thor) are joined in the cast by Tom Burke (C.B. Strike) and Quaden Bayles (Three Thousand Years of Longing), with Alyla Browne (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart) as a younger Furiosa. Nathan Jones and Angus Sampson are said to reprise their Fury Road roles of Rictus Erectus and The Organic Mechanic. Title character Furiosa is played by Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch), taking over from Fury Road‘s Charlize Theron.

Miller hasn’t revealed whether or not Mad Max himself will be appearing in the movie, he has only teased that, “Max is lurking there in the background.” If you’re anxious to see more Mad Max, there’s some good news: Miller has confirmed that he has another Mad Max story written, which would presumably be the Mad Max: The Wasteland story that he has referenced here and there ever since Fury Road was released. Now that Furiosa is making its way out into the world, here’s hoping that Miller or a protégé (Miller has said he has three different directors in mind that he would like to see make movies set in the world of his franchise) will get Mad Max: The Wasteland into production sooner than later.

Are you looking forward to seeing the return of Immortan Joe in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga? Let us know by leaving a comment below.