While Chris Hemsworth hasn’t explicitly outlined the twist that could connect Furiosa, the blockbuster star may have accidentally hinted at the dynamic between the two movies. The first spinoff from the long-running Mad Max franchise, Furiosa will see Anya Taylor-Joy play a younger iteration of Charlize Theron’s Mad Max: Fury Road heroine. However, much of its plot and characters remain a mystery.
According to its official synopsis, Furiosa will follow the heroine as she is “snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus,” and she “must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.” Viewers who have seen Mad Max: Fury Road know Furiosa never makes it home, as the heroine ends up working for the amoral warlord Immortan Joe before the sequel’s story begins. Although this twist is not mentioned in the synopsis, Furiosa actor Chris Hemsworth may have given away how this fate befalls the character.
Chris Hemsworth's Furiosa Comments Hint He Could Be Young Immortan Joe
Hemsworth has said that his character, Dementus, is somewhat evil but also someone whose actions the actor can rationalize regardless. Fury Road’s villain Immortan Joe believes himself to be a god which means that, although he mistreats both his War Boys and his captives, he appears to genuinely think that he is their savior and his brutality is justified. The parallels between the two characters suggest that Hemsworth is hinting at his Furiosa villain role. “I found ways to defend his actions and empathize and understand him as I had to," he said. "That was my job. But yeah, there's a light and darkness to him that I haven't played with before.”
Inferring from Hemsworth's comments, there is a possibility that Hemsworth's character Dementus will go on to become Immortan Joe by the end of Furiosa’s story. While there is no way of being certain when this twist will occur, there are two pieces of evidence to the theory. For one thing, Furiosa’s plot synopsis states that Dementus ends up in a battle with Immortan Joe, meaning he may take over the name and position of the Citadel’s despotic dictator after overthrowing him. Furthermore, The Road Warrior cut a twist that reveals Max’s heroic former partner Goose (who is thought to be dead) is the sequel’s villain Lord Humungus, meaning Furiosa could revisit this idea.
How Dementus Could Replace Immortan Joe
If Hemsworth's Dementus defeats and kills Furiosa's version of Immortan Joe, Dementus could replace him and take over the Citadel as the new Immortan Joe. This would set up the events of Fury Road as Furiosa’s bond with Dementus would justify why it took her so long to rebel against him. This story could also revisit a theme central to the Mad Max series since the original movie, that of a once-innocent character being exposed to the brutality and cruelty people are capable of before eventually being dragged down to their level. This is precisely what could happen to Furiosa.
In more practical , the prequel's casting also might give a clue to this potential twist. While Tom Burke’s role is not yet clear, it's not a stretch to suggest that Burke is potentially cast as young Immortan Joe since he was the third cast member announced. Immortan Joe is the only other named character in the synopsis, and Hemsworth and Taylor-Joy’s roles are ed for. The fact that Burke replaced Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, alongside Hemsworth’s resemblance to a younger Immortan Joe in on-set photos, means Burke’s casting could be a red herring, however. He might be the original Immortan Joe who is then dethroned and replaced by Dementus.
Why This Mad Max/Furiosa Theory Could Be Wrong
While there is a chance that Hemsworth’s comments about his characters’ moral ambiguity hint at the fate of Dementus, this may not be the case. After all, this is the world of Mad Max, where even small children can be killers. The moral ambiguity of Hemsworth's character alone isn’t proof that he must be the Fury Road villain in disguise.
Spiderhead recently made Hemsworth a villain, so Furiosa's Fury Road connection could lose some of its potency as the prequel would be following a Chris Hemsworth career trend. Furthermore, fans of Hemsworth could be angry to see the actor’s antihero turn out to be the monstrous rapist seen in Mad Max: Fury Road. It could be a risk for the filmmakers to pull off such a twist around a likable, audience-pleasing performer.
