George Miller is casting a younger star instead

Word of a George Miller prequel has been a long-awaited topic for many years, and one which fans have been eagerly anticipating to hear about. And oh what a day it is, because the movie has been confirmed.

The 'Mad Max: Fury Road' prequel is now on the cards with original screenplay writer of the 1979 film George Miller taking up the reins once again. Miller has worked on every 'Mad Max' movie since the original, and will also be directing the upcoming release.

Entitled 'Mad Max: Wasteland', the prequel movie will focus on Charlize Theron's Furiosa character from 'Mad Max: Fury Road', except this time around the actress won't be returning. Deciding to focus on a younger cast for the prequel, Miller is believed to be eying up 'The New Mutants' and 'Split' star Anya Taylor-Joy for the title role instead.

Speaking to The New York Times, Miller discusses what kind of journey Furiosa will be undergoing whenever she makes it to the big screen (which is a few years down the line, mind). He said we'll see how the character becomes the warrior that we see in 'Fury Road' and why she was taken from the Vuvalini women warriors.

Although Charlize was always expected to return to the role, Miller says that it's no longer possible. He explains: "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.

"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."

While it's bad news for those hoping for Theron to make a long-awaited return, Miller has already begun to recruit his team for the 'Mad Max: Fury Road' prequel, nabbing Oscar-winning production designer Colin Gibson for another ride in the hot seat. For the 2015 movie, Gibson and his team created 135 spectacular vehicles for the production - 88 were seen onscreen - and Gibson has teased "the next possible iteration, which is on the table, has even more."

Well, we seriously cannot wait for the Furiosa movie now.