In a surprising revelation at the Cannes Film Festival, esteemed director George Miller disclosed that the highly anticipated ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga‘ was completed a mere two and a half weeks ago, barely making its global release date next week. The auteur, who appeared alongside his star-studded cast including Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, and Tom Burke, joked that he “came out of retirement” to helm the prequel to his critically acclaimed ‘Mad Max’ franchise.

During the press conference, Miller underscored the monumental effort and tight deadline the production faced, remarking, “We only finished the film two and a half weeks ago. It hits theaters on May 24.” Taylor-Joy, who takes on the titular role of a younger Furiosa, gushed about the incredible team of artisans – over 1,300 people – many of whom have worked on four other ‘Mad Max’ films with Miller.

“People came out of retirement to work with George,” Taylor-Joy said, prompting her director to quip, “I came out of retirement to work on this film.”

Australian pride was a recurring theme throughout the conference, as Miller fully embraced the use of Australian accents on the production, a stark contrast from the original ‘Mad Max,’ which bombed in the U.S. and had to be dubbed with American accents to suit the marketplace. The director traced his inspiration for the entire film series back to his analog childhood in Queensland.

“There was no television. There was no internet. There was just school, comic books, and the Saturday matinee. The movie theater in town was like a secular Cathedral. We’d go there and we’d see a cartoon, newsreels, a serial, and two features. The rest of the time, we were lucky enough to play,” Miller reminisced. “We played actively, making things based on what we saw in the movies. Picking up garbage can lids to look like knights.”

‘Furiosa’ is the fifth installment in Miller’s long-running ‘Mad Max’ franchise, which first debuted in 1979. The post-apocalyptic action film stars Taylor-Joy as a younger version of the titular character played by Charlize Theron in 2015’s ‘Fury Road,’ which was hailed as one of the best action films of all time. Early in the film, a young Furiosa is kidnapped and imprisoned by a group of bandits led by Warlord Dementus, portrayed by Hemsworth.

The film’s world premiere at Cannes last night was met with a thunderous six-minute standing ovation, as Taylor-Joy blew kisses to the crowd and Hemsworth fought back tears.

While reviews for ‘Furiosa’ have been somewhat mixed, with Variety’s Owen Gleiberman describing it as “inflated franchise overkill” despite some “awesome action moments,” the film’s last-minute completion underscores the immense effort and dedication poured into bringing Miller’s vision to life.

As the director himself joked about emerging from “retirement” for the prequel, his commitment to the ‘Mad Max’ universe and the creative team’s relentless pursuit of excellence have once again culminated in a cinematic spectacle that promises to captivate audiences worldwide.