Charlize Theron Says 'Women Will Survive The Apocalypse'

From "The Hunger Games" to the upcoming "Mad Max: Fury Road," sci-fi and action films often paint the future as a dreary, post-apocalyptic hellscape. The good news: even in the dystopian future, women are butt-kicking survivors, according to "Mad Max" star Charlize Theron.

"We don't want to be guys, but in a post-apocalyptic world, we will survive!" Theron told the audience for "Live! With Kelly and Michael" during a Monday morning appearance.

In "Mad Max," a sequel to the 1979 eponymous Mel Gibson flick, Theron plays Imperator Furiosa, a shaved-headed, one-armed warrior who holds her own with protagonist Mad Max. Theron praised the character as a substantial improvement on traditional roles for women in action movies.

"I've always wanted to explore the genre a little bit more, especially because I think it's such a misconception that women don't like the genre, or that they don't want to go and see these movies," Theron said, according to The Guardian. "I just feel like women have been so misrepresented in these films — why do we have to go and see the genre every single time with the girl in the back of the frame in a push-up bra? Why isn't there a girl that's standing on the same playing field with the guys?"

Calls for more women directing, writing and leading films of all genres have grown louder in recent years. Women-led franchises like "The Hunger Games" have shown that leading ladies in strong roles can also be a box office powerhouse.

"There’s something really, really nice about playing this woman who is a woman, first of all, but is a rogue warrior just like Max, and can fight just as well as Max with one arm," Theron noted.

(And if that's Theron's hint for someone to make a one-armed Furiosa action figure, we know of some people who would be really into that.)