Just this week, we were treated to a brief glimpse of some of the vehicles that series writer and director George Miller was having constructed for his long-awaited fourth chapter in the Mad Max franchise, which is being called Fury Road. During that interview, Miller stated that they were in the process of casting but had no idea who would be chosen yet. Whether that was the truth or not is unknown, but it did not take long to find out that two actors have indeed been chosen. It’s being reported that Academy Award winner Charlize Theron and up-and-comer Tom Hardy have been cast in the lead roles.

Hardy will be filling the large shoes once occupied by Mel Gibson as the vengeful post-apocalyptic hero, Max. Theron will be taking the female lead in which details are not yet known. The movie is said to be a sequel, taking place a short time after the events of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. This means that the hopes for a Gibson cameo as the original Max is unlikely, but a cameo as someone else could still be put together for amusement purposes.

Theron is obviously the biggest name attached so far. She’s appeared in many huge movies, and received an Oscar for her performance as a serial killer in Monster. Hardy is a lot less well-known, but don’t let that lead you to believe he’s not a good choice. The young actor is still on the rise, but has been around for a while now and is just now making a name for himself. He first showed up in a couple of war dramas (Band of Brothers, Black Hawk Down) and then in Star Trek Nemesis. Since then, he’s shown up in movies like Layer Cake and Marie Antoinette, and is now really getting noticed with his work as Handsome Bob in Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla and the indie movie, Bronson. He’ll next be seen in Christopher Nolan’s trippy looking mind adventure, Inception.

Filming of Fury Road is hoped to begin next Summer in Australia.

[Source: THR]