A Mad Max Saga Used AI to Blend the Faces of Its Stars Together

As the debate over the use of AI in filmmaking rages on, it’s been revealed that the recent production of George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga employed AI technology to blend the faces of stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Alyla Browne together. Browne plays a younger version of the titular character, while Taylor-Joy is used to portray Furiosa following a time jump in the movie. The film recently opened to rave reviews, which had nothing but positive things to say about the fifth entry in Miller’s epic saga.

Appearing on The Kelly Clarkson Show (via Variety), Taylor-Joy spoke about how the idea of employing the use of AI was something that director George Miller had “very early on.” She said that his reasoning was because he wanted to create a “seamless transition” between herself and Browne as the film progressed. Check out her comments below.

“George Miller had the idea very early on. The audience was already getting used to a new Furiosa [Charlize Theron in Fury Road]. He wanted
the transition from both actors playing her to be seamless
. And so I did two days of the craziest things you could ever possibly imagine. And they mixed our faces together.”

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

3.5/5

A prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa is an action-adventure film that tells the origin story of the headstrong and fearless Furiosa. Set shortly after the beginning of the “end of the world,” Furiosa is kidnapped and brought before a powerful warlord, now forced to work for him. To find her way back home, Furiosa will adapt to the new harsh and arid world as she grows into the Furiosa she becomes known to be. 

Release Date

May 24, 2024

While Taylor-Joy didn’t go into specifics as to what the “craziest things” she did were, she did mention that at the start of Furiosa, it’s roughly 35% of her appearance mixed with Alyla Browne. By the time the movie is ready to fully make the jump between the two, it’s about 80% Taylor-Joy and 20% Browne. “It’s wild to see,” she commented.

Acknowledging the fact that AI in filmmaking has been a hot button issue as of late, Taylor-Joy would also go on to say that it is “something that is frightening,” and that when it is used in the production process, it has to be “consensual.” She says it’s part of the reason the industry went on strike in 2023.

“There’s a reason that our industry went on strike. It is something that is frightening, and I think if you’re going to use it you have to be honest about it and
it always has to be consensual
. It’s the lack of consent in anything in life that is the scary thing.”

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Isn’t The First Movie to Use AI

While AI has been represented in film for decades, its use to actually aid in making movies has come under fire recently from those within the industry. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga certainly isn’t the first film to use the technology, as others before it, such as the horror film Late Night With the Devil, have experimented with how AI can help enhance a feature film. Alex Garland’s Civil War also borrowed AI for use in promotional materials for the A24 production, and others such as William Shatner have used it to further enhance their brand.

Recently, the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas, added his voice to the mix, claiming that AI is here to stay, and that filmmakers should try and use it to their advantage lest they get left behind. He called its use in movies “inevitable” while drawing comparisons between the rise of AI and that of the auto industry in the early 1900s.

“But the thing of it is,
it’s [AI] inevitable
. I mean, it’s like saying, ‘I don’t believe these cars are gonna work. Let’s just stick with the horses. Let’s stick with the horses.’ And yeah, you can say that, but that isn’t the way the world works .”

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While Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is just the latest movie to use AI successfully, there are more films coming down the pipe that will continue to experiment with the technology, including the upcoming Robert Zemeckis film Here, starring Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, which sees the two actors age significantly over the course of the production.