Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga star Anya Taylor-Joy and director George Miller tease how the titular character loses her arm. As a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, the upcoming film follows a younger Furiosa as she is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers by a biker gang led by Warlord Dementus and fights to find a way back home. Taking over the titular role from Charlize Theron, Anya Taylor-Joy leads the Furiosa cast alongside Chris Hemsworth as the main villain, Warlord Dementus.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly ahead of the Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga release date, Taylor-Joy and Miller teased how the titular character loses her arm. The lead star says Furiosa loses her arm “in the pursuit of something that she thought was bigger than herself.” The director says they decided how Furiosa lost her arm before they shot Mad Max: Fury Road. Read their full comments below:

Taylor-Joy : It made sense to me because I think what’s incredible about this character is she just refuses to die — really, she refuses. It made sense to me that she would lose her arm in the pursuit of something that she thought was bigger than herself. That made a lot of sense to me. The loss of the arm and the loss of the hair actually both were important steps that we had to take if we were going to be able to chart the journey of how this little girl became a character that now we all know and love.

Miller : How did she lose her arm? How did she make that thing? How did she get the skill to be a really good driver? All of those things we had to understand. She’s just not an action hero who turns up and can do it without us knowing why. So we had to understand all of that, how she was resourceful enough to be able to endure whatever came her way. And all of that had to be understood before we started. And that in order to shoot Fury Road , it was all decided back then.

How Did Furiosa Lose Her Arm?

The Answer Should Soon Be Revealed

Taylor-Joy teases that Furiosa loses her arm “in the pursuit of something bigger than herself.” Considering the premise of the prequel, this is likely related to her quest to return home to her mother, Mary Jo Bassa, which is her primary purpose in the prequel. However, considering that Taylor-Joy specifies it is “something that she thought was bigger than herself,” she is more likely referring to Warlord Dementus and Immortan Joe’s war for dominance over the Citadel. In this fight, Furiosa reluctantly teams up with Joe against their common enemy, Dementus.

No matter how it happens, Taylor-Joy and Miller’s comments confirm that Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga will finally reveal how the titular character loses her arm, as it’s important to understand the character. In Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa’s amputated arm is never even addressed, as director George Miller didn’t want the disability to define the character. However, Miller knew exactly how it happened all along and even shared the backstory with Charlize Theon. Now, Furiosa will finally answer the longstanding question.

In addition to how she lost a limb, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga will also reveal why the titular character cut her hair. Taylor-Joy teases that this is also an important moment for the character. Though it’s long been assumed that a road warrior wouldn’t want to bother with long hair, Taylor-Joy suggests there is a deeper meaning behind the moment she shaves her head, which was revealed in the second Furiosa trailer. As an origin story for the iconic action heroine, the prequel film will reveal the meaning behind her mechanical arm and shaved head.