While she may or may not return as Furiosa in any Mad Max: Fury Road sequels, Charlize Theron is setting herself up with a new franchise. According to The Tracking Board she will star in an adaptation of spy thriller, The Gray Man, which the Russo Brothers (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) came aboard to pen last year.
The project has been in the works for quite some time, once with Brad Pitt starring and James Gray directing. Pitt's Plan B ranks among the film's producers, and he's still somewhat in the mix to join Theron as the other lead. The film is based on Mark Greavey's series of books centering on legendary CIA operative Court Gentry who must evade mysterious forces as he tries to save the lives of the daughters who don’t know he exists.
While the Russo Brothers were initially attached to direct that's not going to happen with their Avengers: Infinity War commitments. Sony Pictures sees the possible duo of Theron and Pitt as reason to make The Gray Man a priority project, so they're looking to move on it quickly.
What The Tracking Board and Deadline are adding is the possibility of a gender swap for the lead role, similar to when Angelina Jolie took over for Tom Cruise as the star of Salt. Theron has the toughness and action cred to do it, especially after this year's Mad Max: Fury Road. With no director on board this is still fairly early and there's plenty of time to see if that's the direction they go in.
