So the opening weekend for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was not great. The film opened with one of the worst Memorial Day weekend debuts ever, and has analysts wondering what the Hell happened considering Mad Max: Fury Road was so beloved. Well, I have some thoughts on that, but they aren’t the point of this post. The bigger picture is the impact Furiosa‘s struggles could have on George Miller’s next movie in this franchise, The Wasteland, and whether we ever get to see it.
Appearing on the Happy.Sad.Confused podcast, George Miller talked about The Wasteland, and called the post-apocalyptic film a “saga” similar to Furiosa, while refusing to promise if he’ll actually get to make it.
“I’d say that it certainly has a lot of action in it, but it is also a saga,” said Miller. “It’s a year-long story. ‘Fury Road’ happened over three days and two nights. You could almost say that the first act, some part of the second act, and the third act mostly play in real time. Quite a different kettle of fish than ‘Furiosa.’”
“I’m still figuring out what to do with [‘The Wasteland’],” he added. “I’m just waiting to see the reception on ‘Furiosa.’ If it all lines up, then we’ll go ahead with it.”
And there’s the rub. It could turn out that Furiosa does well in the long haul, especially when it hits streaming. But Warner Bros. is likely to wait a while before giving Miller a thumbs up on anything Mad Max. He might take that time to work on something different. Is there another Happy Feet movie coming up?
