The Matrix Resurrections and Aquaman star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has left George Miller’s upcoming Mad Max: Fury Road spin-off, Furiosa.
Deadline reports that the 35-year-old actor will be replaced by Tom Burke, who played Orson Wells in the Oscar-winning Netflix film, Mank.
Abdul-Mateen is exiting the cast due to a scheduling conflict, it's currently unknown what his other project will be. “Sources say it is a secret passion project he had been developing for some time,” Deadline explained. “Production recently moved up on it, which ultimately led him to leaving Furiosa.” He will soon appear in The Matrix Resurrections as a version of Morpheus (a role played by Lawrence Fishburne in the original The Matrix trilogy), and will reprise his role as Black Mantha in the Aquaman sequel next year.
George Miller hasn't revealed many details about Mad Max: Furiosa, but it's already announced that it will star Anya Taylor-Joy in its leading role - a younger version of Charlize Theron's character in Mad Max: Fury Road. The new film will explore the character's origins, and it will also star Chris Hemsworth in an undisclosed role. Miller will return to direct, produce, and write alongside his producing partner Doug Mitchell.
Related: The Matrix Resurrections: Jessica Henwick Hypes up Trinity's Return
Last April, Miller confirmed that Furiosa will have a different structure compared to Fury Road's prolonged car chase.
"Whereas Fury Road essentially happened over three days and two nights, this happens over many years," Miller told The Sydney Morning Herald. "You try to make films that are 'uniquely familiar...' This will be familiar to those people who know Mad Max, and in particular Fury Road, but also it will be unique."
The Matrix Resurrections is scheduled to release in theaters and HBO Max on December 22. For more information about this movie, check out everything we know about The Matrix Resurrections so far.
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