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WIRE Buzz: Anya Taylor-Joy revs up for Furiosa prequel, HBO counts up '30 Coins' & more

By Josh Weiss
Anya Taylor-Joy Furiosa

Earlier this week, we learned that director George Miller's Furiosa prequel project had locked in Anya Taylor-Joy (Split, The New Mutants) to play the title role originated by Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road.

During a recent appearance on MTV's Happy Sad Confused podcast, Taylor-Joy broke her silence on the casting announcement, saying that she's "already dreaming" about the post-apocalyptic spinoff. "She's coming in pretty strong," the actress said of her take on Furiosa, also admitting that she felt "so many feelings" when she finally landed the part (nabbing her a congratulatory text from Last Night in Soho's Edgar Wright). "It's difficult to put into words, I feel so humbled and grateful, but I think the first thing that went through my head when I found out I was gonna do it [was] 'I am so excited to work so hard. I am going to work so hard at this.'"

Touching on Theron's performance she said:

"The level of commitment that has been shown by those that have come before, I endeavor to match that and [it] makes me really excited ... I fell in love with Furiosa, the way that Charlize presented her. She did such an incredible job and it was so beautiful and I can't even think about trying to step into her shoes. It has to be something different, because it just can't be done ... I'm so committed to working as hard as I possibly can because I've always said that I want a role that I have to give everything to. It wouldn't just be my mind, it would have to be your body [too], what you're doing with yourself when you're not on set. I'm just so excited for that and I hope to push myself past the limits of what my brain once told me was possible."

Anya Taylor-Joy 2020

Despite her excitement, Taylor-Joy has yet to meet with her ambitious director in person. "We've spent a lot of time on FaceTime and then we had a great conversation," she said. "We talked about movies, but we mostly just talked about life and I just love his brain. I really feel like I connect with it and from the second that we finished talking, I was already thinking, 'Okay, I'm yours. Do with me what you will.' ... I have so much respect for the originators of this crazy world and this unbelievable collection of characters."

Mad Max: Furiosa will also feature the acting talents of Chris Hemsworth (Thor: Ragnarok) and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen). Both of their roles have not been disclosed by the studio.


Toss a coin to your witcher and then toss 30 more to HBO. The premium cable network announced today that it will be airing 30 Coins, an original genre series produced by HBO Europe, in the U.S. next year. This kind of "exchange" program is nothing new for HBO. Last year, the network aired the Nordic noir entitled Beforeigners.

Eduard Fernández stars as Father Vergara, an exorcist/boxer/ex-convict, who is essentially exiled to the church when he's sent to serve as the priest of a remote Spanish town. "He wants to forget and be forgotten, but his enemies will soon find him," reads the official synopsis. "Strange things begin to happen, and an unlikely task force of Mayor Paco (Miguel Ángel Silvestre) and local vet Elena (Megan Montaner) seek the truth, while reality is distorted by a cursed coin at the heart of a global conspiracy."

Álex de la Iglesia (The Day of the Beast) co-wrote the show with Jorge Guerricaechevarría and serves as director. Steve Matthews, Miguel Salvat, and Antony Root executive-produce on behalf of HBO Europe, while de la Iglesia and Carolina are executive producers under the banner of Pokeepsie Films. 

Watch the first teaser below:

Okay, what the hell is that pale spider creature?! We're gonna need to sleep with the lights on for a few weeks. Filmed in Spain, 30 Coins recently enjoyed its world premiere at the 77th Venice International Film Festival.

"[de la Iglesia's] latest creation is another twisted fantasy teeming with horror and black comedy devices. The story is entirely preposterous and all over the place," wrote Victor Fraga in their review of the first episode. Fraga went on to say that the show "only partially works as a stand-alone movie rather than a series," but concluded that it marked "a refreshing, uncompromising break from the festival's very serious line-up."


American Horror Story actress Emma Roberts is sinking her fangs into First Kill, an upcoming vampire series at Netflix, Deadline confirms. Per the report, Roberts will produce the show, which is based on the short story by Victoria "V. E." Schwab, who serves as creator, writer, and executive producer on the one-hour series.

Felicia D. Henderson (The Punisher) is on board as writer and showrunner for all eight episodes.

Vampires Emma Roberts

"First Kill" can be found in Vampires Never Get Old: Tales With Fresh Bite, an anthology of vampire-inspired short stories edited by Natalie C. Parker and Zoraida Córdova. The collection went on sale last month. The story involves Juliette, a young vampire about to drain her first victim, so she can take her place among a powerful family of blood-suckers. Juliette targets a new girl in town named Calliope, but soon learns that her intended victim is from a long line of vampire hunters. "Both find that the other won’t be so easy to kill and, unfortunately, way too easy to fall for," writes Deadline.