Mad Max: Fury Road Images Show Gal Gadot & Zoë Kravitz At Auditions

Newly-released images reveal Gal Gadot and Zoe Kravitz at their auditions for Mad Max: Fury Road. Helmed by George Miller, who directed all of the previous Mad Max films, Fury Road was a follow-up/soft reboot of the franchise, which starred Charlize Theron as Furiosa and Tom Hardy as Mad Max aka Max Rockatansky. The 2015 actioner also starred Nicholas Hoult, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Zoë Kravitz, and Hugh Keays-Byrne. The film went on to be a massive hit with critics and audiences, despite being fraught with multiple production delays and on-set controversies.

Initially, original star Mel Gibson was going to return to the role for Mad Max: Fury Road, but continued delays took him out of the running, prompting Miller to find a new Mad Max for the film. Meanwhile, the other key role was for Furiosa, which would be a co-lead in the film and a substantial challenge for whoever took it. Multiple names were courted for the role, including Angelina Jolie, Jessica Chastain, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ruth Negga, and Gal Gadot, who nearly got the part.

In his new book Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The While & True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road, Kyle Buchanan revealed that Gadot’s audition for Furiosa was incredible (according to Miller’s casting director, Ronna Kress), but that her age was an issue when casting against Immorten Joe’s wives. In a new series of tweets to promote his book, Buchanan shared the audition photo of Gadot in London in 2009, as well as that of Kravitz, who nabbed the role of Toast The Knowing in the film. Buchanan notes that Kravitz tested opposite Jeremy Renner, who was in contention for the role of Max, which ultimately went to Tom Hardy. Check out the tweets below:

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Gadot, of course, would go on to be cast as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman in the DCEU, where she made her debut in 2016’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, before appearing three more times as the character in two solo films, as well as Zack Snyder’s Justice League. The actress recently appeared in Netflix’s Red Notice with Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds and is currently filming her role as the Evil Queen in Disney’s live-action Snow White. Kravitz recently appeared as Selina Kyle/Catwoman in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, as well as Steven Soderbergh’s Kimi for HBO Max. Miller is currently in pre-production on the Fury Road prequel, Furiosa, which will star Anya Taylor-Joy as the titular character and Chris Hemsworth as the main villain.

It’s always interesting to imagine what could’ve been if casting had gone differently for any film and Mad Max: Fury Road is no different. With so many stars auditioning for the roles that would become synonymous with the stars that inhabited them, it makes for a fun comparison to imagine how the film would’ve turned out if the roles were played by someone else. Theron was vocal about her disappointment not to return to the role of Furiosa for the prequel, as well as the tumultuous relationship with Hardy on the set of Fury Road, which has continued to make the lore behind the film that much more compelling, especially with Buchanan’s book revealing so many intricate details about the production. If anything, the more that’s heard about Mad Max: Fury Road, from almost-casting to in-fighting to on-set controversies and beyond, the more it’s solidified as a modern classic.

Source: Kyle Buchanan

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