Yahya Abdul-Mateen II explains why he dropped out of Furiosa

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has revealed why he dropped out of the Mad Max: Fury Road prequel Furiosa.

The Aquaman actor was set to star alongside Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth in George Miller's 2024 action movie Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.

However, he dropped out of the project due to scheduling issues and was replaced by Tom Burke.

During a recent interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the Watchmen actor explained his exit wasn't due to scheduling issues, but his need to rest and recover after years of shooting projects back-to-back.

He noted that Miller wanted his cast to be involved in the creative process a year before filming, and he knew that he wasn't able to make such a significant time commitment.

"It wasn't overwhelming. It was so cool; it was actually so cool because he loved it. And it was like the only thing that he cared about and he made the time in his life to do that, and he had his actors involved in the process a year ahead, just having creative and imaginative conversations, and I knew deep down inside that it was too much and that I needed to rest," Abdul-Mateen II shared.

Reflecting on his decision, the Candyman star is proud that he handled the situation with honesty.

"I'm so glad that I handled that honestly, that I was honest about the way that I handled that because then I could separate myself from that with integrity and let another actor step in to do a fantastic job and bring everything that they had," he continued. "And also, it allowed me to rest and rejuvenate and recalibrate and then wait, keep continuing to say no until the right thing showed up."

After his break, Abdul-Mateen II returned to acting in the new TV shows Wonder Man and Man on Fire. He will also be seen in the upcoming Once Upon A Time in Hollywood sequel, The Adventures of Cliff Booth, later this year.