In some surprising news, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has departed George Miller’s Mad Max prequel movie, Furiosa. British television and stage actor Tom Burke has been announced as his replacement. Abdul-Mateen was thrilled about joining the Mad Max franchise and working with George Miller but parted ways due to scheduling conflicts. According to Deadline, Abdul-Mateen chose a long-gestating passion project of his over Furiosa. Moreover, the Mad Max prequel was recently pushed back to May 24, 2024, from its planned June 6, 2023, release date, which could have further created complications in Abdul-Mateen’s busy schedule.

It’s unfortunate to see Abdul-Mateen go. He has been on a roll lately, starring in high-profile films and TV shows like Watchmen and Candyman. He is also playing a young Morpheus in the upcoming The Matrix: Resurrections. But Tom Burke - the actor replacing Abdul Mateen II in Furiosa - is equally talented and has been a part of several underrated TV shows. Burke played the lead role of Athos in the BBC series, The Musketeers from 2014 to 2016. He currently stars as the eponymous character in C.B. Strike (titled Strike in the U.K.), based on the Cormoran Strike novels by J.K. Rowling. Burke also played Orson Welles in David Fincher’s Mank. Keeping in mind the success of Mad Max: Fury Road, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Burke got his big break in Hollywood from Furiosa.

George Miller directs Furiosa from a screenplay he co-wrote with Nico Lathouris. The film is a prequel to 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road and will feature a young imperator Furiosa as the protagonist. Charlize Theron portrayed Furiosa in Fury Road, with Tom Hardy playing Max Rockatansky, a role made iconic by Mel Gibson. Theron and Hardy aren’t involved in any capacity in Furiosa but have expressed their desire to return for future Mad Max movies.

As for the plot details, not much is known about Furiosa except that it will span several years, compared to the three days of Mad Max: Fury Road. Miller stated recently, "I didn't set out to make a big, epic movie. It's a story I wanted to tell. But as it turns out, it's just got a lot of different scenes. The one thing I can say about it is, Fury Road happened over three days and two nights, but this is a saga. It happens over many years. So there's a lot of different elements to it."

Furiosa also stars Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit, Last Night in Soho) as the titular character and Chris Hemsworth in an untitled role. The pair were initially set to begin pre-production later this year, but the Furiosa filming delays also disrupted their schedules. Hemsworth will now wrap production on Extraction 2 before heading to Australia for Furiosa. The film will be the biggest movie ever to shoot in Australia and will create several employment opportunities.

George Miller is currently busy with his own passion project, Three Thousand Years of Longing, starring Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton. The film is slated for a 2022 release. Let’s hope the delays haven’t caused too much trouble for Furiosa and Miller delivers another action-packed entry in the Mad Max franchise. Also, we can’t wait to see what Tom Burke does with the role. Hopefully, he will knock it out of the park. Furiosa storms into theaters on May 24, 2024.

This news originated at Deadline.