Mad Max: Chris Hemsworth Rumored for Lead Role in Prequel

Development on George Miller's Mad Max: Furiosa continues to chug along as the studio has reportedly closed in on the first official member of the cast. Earlier this year, casting details surfaced hinting at a character named Dementus, calling him a"breathtakingly handsome" lead with "an angel's face, scarred by a deep forehead wound stitched together with shiny chrome staples." According to the scoopers over at The Illuminerdi, Chris Hemsworth is being eyed by the studio for the role of Dementus. While it's important to note the latest report says the Thor star hasn't officially signed on the project, Warner Brothers is reportedly very interested and getting the actor on board.

It's been five years since Furiosa first appeared in Mad Max: Fury Road and the spinoff is still far from rolling cameras. We don't know all too much about the project this point, though we do know it's set to be a prequel prior to the events of Fury Road and it won't be starring Charlize Theron in the titular role.

"For the longest time, I thought we could just use CG de-aging on Charlize, but I don't think we're nearly there yet," Miller previously said on the decisions to recast the role. "Despite the valiant attempts on The Irishman, I think there's still an uncanny valley. Everyone is on the verge of solving it, particular Japanese video-game designers, but there's still a pretty wide valley, I believe."

Earlier this year, Theron praised Miller's work on Fury Road, revealing it was her idea to shave Furiosa's head for the character's now-iconic look.

"At first, Furiosa was this very ethereal character, with long hair and some African mud art on her face. It was a different costume designer back then, before Jenny Beavan, and the costume felt a little more Barbarella-y. I worried about it," Theron shared. "George was really incredible in just hearing me out. I called him and said, 'I don't know how she's getting by in the mechanics' room with all this hair. I think we need to shave my head, and she needs to be a more androgynous, grounded character.' You know, he trusted me so much that it kind of makes me emotional."

She added, "That is frightening! And I think because of my own fear, we were putting up walls to protect ourselves instead of saying to each other, 'This is scary for you, and it's scary for me, too. Let's be nice to each other.' In a weird way, we were functioning like our characters: Everything was about survival."

The latest Mad Max movie has yet to set a release date.