A trailer for the latest spinoff in the Mad Max franchise has viewers wondering who the little girl is in Furiosa — and if the theory that connects her to a key Fury Road character is plausible. Directed by George Miller, 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road is set in a post-apocalyptic world where fuel and water are equally scarce. Like previous franchise installments, Fury Road centers on Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), while also introducing an ally in the form of Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron). Together, the hardened duo engage in a lengthy, roadway battle against Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), a cult leader with an ultra-violent army.
When the events of Fury Road unfold, Theron’s Furiosa has turned against Immortan Joe in order to free his concubines. With Max’s help, she tries to deliver the so-called Five Wives to the utopian Green Place. A prequel to Fury Road, Furiosa sees the return of Mad Max characters, including its titular road warrior (Anya Taylor-Joy). Taken from the Green Place, Furiosa gets caught up in a war between violent tyrants, and strives to cross the deadly Wasteland in order to return home. In the Furiosa trailer, a scene shows a red-headed girl being held captive — and she may be connected to an existing Fury Road character.
Mad Max Theory: Furiosa’s Little Girl Is Riley Keough’s Capable From Fury Road
One compelling fan theory suggests that the red-headed little girl shown in the Furiosa trailer is actually Riley Keough’s character from Mad Max: Fury Road. Known as Capable, Keough’s character is one of Joe’s wives — a.k.a. concubines who are forced to bear the cult leader’s children. The most level-headed of the five, Capable also stands out because of her bright red locks. Although the young girl in the Furiosa trailer is only seen very briefly, she is shown to have a similar shade of bright red hair — something that stands out against the film’s Wasteland color scheme.
In Fury Road, Capable is one of the Five Wives that Furiosa hopes to liberate. Not only that, but Furiosa plans to escort the five women to the Green Place — a haven away from the violent, controlling men of the Mad Max franchise’s Wasteland. While not much is known about Capable outside of her brief appearance in Fury Road, it would be compelling for the Furiosa prequel to knit its titular protagonist into a tighter story with other preexisting Mad Max characters. Choosing one of Joe’s future Five Wives makes the most sense, especially since it aligns with the films’ themes of liberation and agency.
Fury Road’s Timeline Supports Capable Being In Furiosa
While the Furiosa film is scarce on details so far, the trailer implies that Furiosa not only aims to get herself home — and away from the grasp of the warring road tyrants — but that she has a soft spot for the red-headed little girl. Although the character is shown briefly, it’s implied that Furiosa sets out to rescue her. It may even mark the first time the heroic Mad Max character has tried to help someone else escape the grasp of a warlord. Regardless, based on the child’s age, she could very well be a young Capable, as Fury Road is set some 15 years after Furiosa.
Capable’s Fate Could Help Explain Furiosa’s View On Immortan Joe
In the Furiosa trailer, the young girl is shown to be a captive of the Warloard Dementus, Chris Hemsworth’s villainous character. The leader of a Biker Horde, Dementus may not have the cult-leader status of Immortan Joe, but he certainly has the same penchant for violence and bloodshed. If Furiosa rescues Capable from Dementus, watching the girl slip into Immortan Joe’s grasp — and become one of his enslaved concubines — would surely upset Furiosa. That said, if Taylor-Joy’s protagonist has a preexisting relationship with one of the future Five Wives in Furiosa, the way she targets Joe in Fury Road would make even more sense.
