Warner Bros. Sets 'Mad Max' Prequel 'Furiosa' For 2023 Along With 'Coyote Vs ACME' And 'The Color Purple' Musical
Warner Bros. Pictures will shake up the theatrical distribution model next year by releasing every single one of their movies simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. However, for those expecting the studio to keep that model going in years to come, they seem to have rebuked that speculation by setting 2023 global theatrical release dates for the Mad Max prequel Furiosa, the Looney Tunes-inspired live-action/animated hybrid Coyote vs. Acme, and the big screen version of the Tony Award-winning musical adaptation of The Color Purple.
Deadline has news on Warner Bros. Pictures setting the Furiosa release date for 2023, along with Coyote vs Acme and The Color Purple musical film adaptation. Studio chairman Toby Emmerich made the announcement, which indicated that these movies would be given global theatrical releases that would not be coupled with a release on HBO Max.
The Mad Max prequel Furiosa will be released on June 23, 2023. Directed by George Miller, the movie will put The Queen's Gambit and Split star Anya Taylor-Joy in the titular role played by Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road. The cast also includes Thor franchise star Chris Hemsworth and Watchmen star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
Next, Coyote vs. Acme will arrive a month later on July 21, 2023. Focusing on the Looney Tunes rivalry between Wile E. Coyote and the mail order supplier ACME, which always seems to provide him with faulty goods in his pursuit of the Road Runner. The movie will bring to life the slapstick comedy of Wile E. Coyote trying to catch the Road Runner, but it will also take inspiration from the New Yorker magazine article of the same name imagining a lawsuit between the coyote and the fictional company. With a script from James Gunn, Jeremy Slater, Jon Silberman & Josh Silberman and Samy Burch, this sounds like it has the potential to be a lot of fun. Gunn is also producing, but so is Tom & Jerry producer Chris DeFaria, which is a little worrisome.
Finally, The Color Purple musical will get a holiday release on December 20, 2023, giving it a prime awards season slot. Adapting the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by author Alice Walker, the movie will be directed by Blitz Bazawule (Beyoncé's Black is King) with a script by Marcus Gardley (The Chi). Producing the movie will be Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg, who both worked together on the 1985 film adaptation. Also producing will be Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones with Alice Walker, Rebecca Walker, Mara Jacobs, Carla Gardini, Kristie Macosko Krieger, and Adam Fell serving as executive producers.