When MAD MAX: FURY ROAD finally got underway, word of a second MAD MAX project - subtitled FURIOSA - also came about. But there was little-to-no workable context regarding what it was.
We subsequently heard more and more about FURY ROAD - and that picture ultimately arrived and is truly amazing on numerous levels. But references to FURIOSA dwindled completely. A particularly awkward and mysterious development given that the character ‘Furiosa’ was so utterly consequential and inspired within the context of FURY ROAD.
Not too long ago, MAD MAXtermind George Miller cleared up this confusion, indicating that FURIOSA was actually an anime project originally intended to accompany the issuance of FURY ROAD. Said project, which would've focused heavily on the character portrayed by Charlize Theron in the live action saga, was sadly scuttled by FURY ROAD’s complicated and delayed production.
Might FURIOSA still happen someday? Hard to say. Given critical response to FURY ROAD and the warm reception of the Furiosa character, it’s a safe bet all hope might might be lost.
Whatever the case, we now have a very brief glimpse of what this MAD MAX anime undertaking may’ve looked like.
Via Blastr and Twitter user Wario64, comes this look at a Japanese TV show affording a fleeting sense of the project.
Artwork for abandoned Mad Max anime (Mahiro Maeda) centered around Furiosa http://t.co/RYiN6kpjiD pic.twitter.com/TJz2CkZRUg
— Wario64 (@Wario64) June 22, 2015
This represents the art of Mahiro Maeda (BLUE SUBMARINE NO. 6, NEON GENESIS EVANGELION), whose designs also appear in FURY ROAD proper (I believe he’s credited as a ‘Character Designer’ on the picture).
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD recently released in Japan - having already pulled down nearly $350 million globally (I'd imagine its video sales - apparently offering Miller’s preferred B&W version of the film alongside its theatrical release - will be considerable). Enough for WB to consider setting into motion Miller’s already announced, already scripted MAD MAX: THE WASTELAND? Maybe not given FURY ROAD’s complexity and budget. However, far stranger and less rational things have happened in the biz…so I wouldn’t count Mister Rockatansky out just yet…
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Glen Oliver
“Merrick”
