The origin story for Furiosa was originally planned to be an anime but it never happened.

George Miller has been the mastermind of the Mad Max franchise, dating back to the first film in 1979. The franchise has evolved in terms of his look and visual style in presenting a post-apocalyptic/dystopian desert wasteland where people and factions fight for resources. The director created history with 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road nabbing 6 Oscars.

Tom Hardy as Max Rockatansky in Mad Max: Fury Road
Miller had already created a complete script for an original story for Imperator Furiosa which Charlize Theron played in Fury Road before shooting the film. After shooting Fury Road, the director planned to turn the origin story into an anime. However, those plans fell apart, but one of its concept arts from the script made its way into the upcoming Furiosa film starring Anya Taylor-Joy.

George Miller Managed to Bring Elements From His Cancelled Mad Max Anime Into Furiosa

Chris Hemsowrth’s Dementus in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga helped retain one of the original concept arts
George Miller is gearing up for the release of his new Mad Max film, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. The film has been in the works for many years as Miller had already conceptualized the film when he was making Mad Max: Fury Road. For the cast to understand the world they were in, Miller wrote backstories before the events of Fury Road for the prominent characters including Furiosa.

This ended in a full screenplay, filled with concept art, and character sketches. Later on, after the finishing shoot on Fury Road, Miller and the team wanted to turn the origin story script into an anime project. However, with the delays in the post-production and the release schedules of Fury Road, those plans were scrapped but the script remained with Miller.

Miller talked about these aspects in a recent Q&A at the IMAX Headquarters outside of Los Angeles. As the planned anime film turned into a live-action film titled Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga which is soon coming out, only one element from the concept arts developed for the canceled anime film survived.

Chris Hemsworth‘s Dementus from Furiosa wears a teddy bear chained to his body and even places it on the dashboard of his vehicle. This teddy bear was a part of the original illustrations that were retained in the film and is a part of the arc of Dementus. Miller said (via Polygon),

“So we wrote a story about Furiosa from the time she was taken as a child, as she refers to in Fury Road until she became the Imperator Furiosa. That ended up as a full screenplay, with concept art and so on. And the actors, the designers, and all the crew got the screenplay of that before shooting Fury Road.

But then Fury Road was delayed, so there was no point in making an anime. That teddy bear — [Maeda] started doing some illustrations and put that bear in. And then that became a part of the story. So that was already there before Fury Road.”

The teddy bear must have a key story element for Dementus and thus is a part of the film. Miller is specific even with a prop like this to tell a story that adds layers and complexity to a character. It remains to be seen how the teddy bear factors into Dementus’ arc and his actions in the film.

George Miller Would Love To Work on Anything With Chris Hemsworth

Chris Hemsworth and George Miller have a good rapport after collaborating on Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
George Miller and Chris Hemsworth collaborated on the upcoming Mad Max prequel film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. The duo seemed to have a great time working together and had a creatively enriching experience together. The shoot on Furiosa might have long been over but the two would love a reunion project together.

In an interview with Comicbook.com, Miller expressed his desire to work with Hemsworth in the future. Miller further praised Hemsworth as an actor who has a full range of all the skills required to be a competent movie star. While Hemsworth is physically striking, Miller adds that he is also emotionally and intellectually well-thought-out. The director said,

“I would work with Chris on anything. I really would. He’s a wonderful actor. He’s got the full range of all the skills. I mean, you’ve got to be athletic, physically. But, you also gotta be athletic emotionally and intellectually to take on these very, ultimately fairly complex, any role really.”

Hemsworth’s role in Dementus is a return to the actor backing up character-driven roles like in Rush and Bad Times at the El Royale (where he also played a similarly psychotic cult leader). The first reactions to Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga have been stellar (via Rotten Tomatoes) and it releases in theatres on May 24, 2024.