Who Does Chris Hemsworth Play In Furiosa? Mad Max Fans Have Some Theories

It's been nearly a decade since the release of one of the greatest action movies of all time. George Miller's supersized sequel "Mad Max: Fury Road" brought the post-apocalyptic anti-hero's struggle for survival to a whole new generation of cinemagoers, scoring itself plenty of acclaim and a best picture nomination at the Oscars along the way.

Now, Miller is looking to double down with his new "Mad Max" prequel, "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga." As fans might expect, the upcoming film follows Charlize Theron's character from "Fury Road," although it traces her time prior to the events of that film and features Anya Taylor-Joy as a younger version of the heroine. Perhaps most notably with regard to the trailer, the movie also co-stars a prosthetically enhanced Chris Hemsworth as the villain of the piece, Dementus.

Some "Mad Max" fans think that they have cracked the case for Hemsworth's true identity in the film, though. On X (formerly Twitter), one user wrote, "So, anyone else thinking that Chris Hemsworth is playing pre and post-breathing mask Immortan Joe? Would explain the prosthetic nose."

Meanwhile, other X users like @MrStardian also shared their excitement about Hemsworth possibly playing the "Mad Max: Fury Road" villain. "Mad Max Furiosa is gonna be so unbelievably good," the X user said. "Chris Hemsworth looks unrecognizable as Immortan Joe. I can only make out it's Chris a little bit because of some similarities."

Fans will recall that Joe was the tyrannical villain in "Mad Max: Fury Road," and considering the new movie is a prequel, we could definitely see his origin story come to light. On the other hand, though, many other fans have disputed the theory, suggesting that the two characters will actually be at odds.

In fact, this theory was floated over a year ago by u/freshjim on the r/MadMax subreddit, and fans who have played the video game tie-in for "Mad Max: Fury Road" were quick to dispute it. "Dementus is the main villain. He's even mentioned in the video game," wrote u/TheRocketBush.

The user also offered some background for those who haven't played the "Mad Max" game. "You visit his tomb in a side quest, and he's mentioned in some character bios. Not a very prevalent character." So, is Chris Hemsworth playing Immortan Joe or not? While the marketing thus far suggests that he is not, there are the classic movie twist rules to consider.

In theory, it's still a possibility that Hemsworth could be playing both characters. Furthermore, we might even come to see the brutal accident that leaves Joe a mangled version of his former self in "Furiosa." Unfortunately, we'll have to wait until the film releases in 2024 to know any of this for sure, one way or another.