George Miller is looking for one last ride with Mad Max, the post-apocalyptic hero he introduced nearly fifty years ago. According to Puck, Miller was recently in Los Angeles shopping to studios one last Mad Max movie, with a potential plan for its future without him at the helm.
The report says Amazon, Universal, and Sony Pictures are the most interested parties, while the franchise’s longtime home, Warner Bros., has passed on it. Damn. WB has been behind five Mad Max movies, including the most recent, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, released last year.
Miller’s proposal includes one final movie, along with a possible TV series. After that, Miller would sell the rights to the highest bidder. Again, damn.
The WB thing must hurt, though. The studio has been behind Miller’s franchise since the original in 1979. However, Furiosa was a flop that lost them roughly $120M, so it’s easy to see why they’d turn this deal down. I’m just surprised the thought of owning the property didn’t sway them to reconsider.
Mad Max fans have been hoping Miller could finally complete his much-discussed follow-up, The Wasteland, but WB shot it down after a legal dispute. Tom Hardy was all set to return as Max Rockatansky, and presumably Charlize Theron would’ve, too. It’s unclear if that’s the movie Miller is now trying to make, and if it is, would Hardy and Theron even want to come back? If they don’t, Miller has shown no reservations about recasting, as he did with Anya Taylor-Joy for Furiosa. Then again, that didn’t turn out so hot, did it?
