Mad Max Furiosa suspended for a week as George Miller isolates with Covid

Production on the latest Mad Max instalment Furiosa has been shut down in Sydney after legendary director George Miller caught Covid.

The Daily Mail Australia can reveal the production, which has been under way in a number of locations in and around Sydney since June, has been suspended for a week with all on-screen filming halted until at least August 15.

It’s understood Miller, 77, tested positive to Covid early this week and has been forced to isolate at his Sydney home.

The multi-million dollar production, which is currently based on location in Kurnell just south of Sydney, will resume filming next week.

Chris Hemsworth seen on set of Furiosa on location in Kurnell back in early July

Furiosa producers have been contacted for comment.

The setback echoes Miller’s infamous shoot for Mad Max: Fury Road back in 2012 which was plagued by a number of costly delays and production issues.

The shoot initially began in Namibia but encountered some public relations hiccups after the Namibian Conservation Coast and Management Project accused the producers of damaging a number of plant and animal species in a leaked draft.

The filmmakers later dismissed these reports as ‘rhetoric’.

Re-shoots later took place in Potts Hill and Penrith Lakes in Western Sydney but poor weather led to a number of delays.

Years later it was also revealed that tensions between Mad Max: Fury Road stars Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy also led to major disruptions on set, with Theron later admitting she demanded protection from Hardy at one point. 

Charlize Theron on the set of Mad Max: Fury Road which was beset by several costly delays

George Miller with Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy at the premiere of Mad Max: Fury Road after the pair clashed regularly on set

Speaking to writer Kyle Buchanan for his book Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road, Theron said Hardy’s lateness on set caused tension which almost derailed the film entirely.

After Hardy arrived to set several hours late one day, Theron asked the British actor; ‘How disrespectful are you?’ and said the producers should ‘fine the f—— c— a hundred thousand dollars for every minute that he’s held up this crew’.

Hardy responded by ‘charging up to her’ and saying: ‘What did you say to me?’

The Oscar winning actress later confirmed the pair had ‘settled’ their differences.

The film went on to gross almost $400million globally and won six Oscars.  

Anya Taylor-Joy is set to star as Furiosa for the Fury Road prequel which has gone into shutdown in Sydney

Furiosa is a prequel to Fury Road with Anya Taylor-Joy playing a younger Theron in the tititular role to headline the post-apocalyptic blockbuster.

Taylor-Joy and co-star Chris Hemsworth were snapped for the first time on set just prior to the current shutdown, with both donning red wigs for their roles.

Details of Hemsworth’s character in the film have been kept under wraps by Miller and insiders at studio Warner Bros, with his role officially defined as ‘unspecified’. 

Oscar-winning director George Miller (pictured on set of Mad Max: Fury Road) is said to be isolating in Sydney while Furiosa is suspended