UPDATE: George Miller has issued a statement about Page 6’s report, now claiming that he was misquoted, and he actually plans to direct a fifth Mad Max movie at some point in the future. The confusion arose when he said that his next project wouldn’t be a Mad Max movie, and he instead wished to attempt a smaller movie before revisiting the world of the Mad Max franchise.
Original report follows:
Despite entertaining the possibility of coming back to helm a fifth installment in the Mad Max movie franchise, director, George Miller now seems to have changed his mind. Despite being the creator of the series, and helming every installment to date (although he co-directed the third movie, 1985’s Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome), Miller is now claiming that he’s ready to walk away from the wasteland.
“I won’t make more “Mad Max” movies” Miller bluntly stated to Page 6. “”Fury Road” was forever getting completed. If you finish one in a year, it’s considered a leap of faith. Start, stop, start again. I’ve shot in Australia in a field of wild flowers and flat red earth when it rained heavily forever. We had to wait 18 months, and every return to the US was 27 hours. Those “Mad Max” [movies] take forever. I won’t do those anymore.”
Considering the arduous uphill battle that Miller fought to realize the franchise’s fourth movie, last year’s reboot, Mad Max: Fury Road, which took two decades to hit the big screen, it’s understandable that the 70-year-old director may have reached the end of his rope with the series. Regardless though, studio, Warner Bros. seems more intent to make Mad Max movies now, given that Mad Max: Fury Road became the highest-reviewed and most-praised wide movie release of last year (we also gave the movie a stellar 95% score in our official review), and is one of last year’s highest-selling DVD and Blu-Ray releases as well, despite a middling box office intake in theatres. Last year also saw the release of a Mad Max video game from Warner Bros. and Avalanche Studios, which hit PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One last September.
It’s unlikely that Miller would completely walk away from the Mad Max series, and may simply have decided not to direct the fifth installment. Given that Miller has already completed two potential story treatments for a sequel, setting up a fifth and sixth movie for Warner Bros. to pursue, it’s likely that he would remain involved in a mere producing capacity, allowing a younger director to take up the reins. That said however, it’s believed that Tom Hardy will definitely be back for a fifth movie, with Charlize Theron possibly returning as Imperator Furiosa as well, though reports are mixed to that effect.
Would you be upset if George Miller opted out of directing the fifth Mad Max movie? What would you want to see in a follow-up to Mad Max: Fury Road? As usual, your comments are welcome below.
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