Mad Max 4: Fury Road in Preproduction!
It's official! Fourth Installment of Mad Max Franchise Going Ahead
Oct 27, 2009
Rumours and gossip about the fourth instalment in the Mad Max franchise have been flying around for over a decade now, and perhaps the main reason that none of the rumours have ever come true is because the film itself has been plagued with production problems.
Initially, George Miller, the Australian director responsible for the previous three episodes, didn’t want to do a fourth Mad Max. When Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome wrapped in 1985 (has it really been that long?), he felt that the series had run its course, and that there wouldn’t be another.
However, in an interview promoting another of his creations, the animation Happy Feet (2006), Miller talked about becoming re-enthused about the possibility of a fourth Mad Max. When asked why he suddenly changed his mind after 20 years, he replied: “Because a story came to me [...] About seven years ago, I caught a flight from Los Angeles to Sydney during the night. I don’t know how or why, but a story started to play itself through my mind, and about two thirds of the way through, I thought, ‘Oh my god!’ That’s a Mad Max story!”
Although he had the story, the film faced many difficulties. After languishing in production hell for several years, things finally seemed set to go ahead in 2002/03. Filming was due to take place in Africa, but unfortunately, with the outbreak of the second Gulf War, security concerns halted the project. In addition, a dip in the US economy created financial problems, and the subject matter of the film was deemed too sensitive for the current global climate.
Miller continued to express his ongoing interest in making the movie for the next couple of years, but was unable to bring all the elements together to make it work. Earlier this year, Miller stated that he was interested in making an anime version of the movie, after seemingly giving up on the possibility that it will ever make it on to film.
Mad Max 4 In Pre-Production
However, this month several announcements have been made, and it has been confirmed that Mad Max 4: Fury Road is now officially in pre-production. The film will be shot in Sydney and New South Wales, Australia, the same place that previous Mad Max films have been shot, and Miller is currently casting for the movie. Shooting will commence in mid-2010, and is expected to take roughly two-and-a-half years to complete, so we can expect a release sometime in 2013. Suddenly, four years seems a very long time!
Mel Gibson Unlikely to Reprise Role
Rumours about who will be cast for the lead roles have been flying backwards and forwards. Initially, Charlize Theron (Hancock, Monster) and Tom Hardy (Bronson, RocknRolla) were associated with the film. However, speculation since then has pegged Sam Worthington (Terminator 4: Salvation) for the role.
Miller is still in the middle of casting at the moment, but given Mad Max’s Australian heritage, and the fact that it will be shot in Australia, it seems likely that Worthington will be the first choice. However, another excellent option would be Eric Bana, a fantastic Australian actor who can definitely pull off the ‘mad’ thing, as proven in Chopper (2000).
One fact that seems to keep recurring across statements by George Miller and Mel Gibson is that Gibson is unlikely to do it because he is too old for the franchise now, despite hardcore Mad Max fans insisting that there is no Max without Mel.
Mad Max 4 Set To Be the Best Yet?
Talking about the movie at a press conference, Miller seemed set on ensuring that Mad Max 4 lives up to the expectations set by its predecessors. When talking about how long it was going to take to build the cars for the movie, he said, “they’re obviously over the top, but they’ll also have to be very high performance, because the film is shot at speed, and very, very safe, because the reason this movie is so big, is that it’s got a huge number of stunts. We’re trying to do stuff that I believe people haven’t done before.”
One thing that that Miller must be sure to do is avoid sacrificing the essence of Mad Max to Hollywood studio formulas. Sure, Charlize Theron is a great actress, and would provide some enticing eye-candy to the project, but Mad Max has always been a solitary character with few lines, and this is part of his magic. It is this tragic, lone-wolf persona plagued by grief, loss and demons that makes Mad Max ‘mad’! To encumber him with a love interest, a romantic storyline and a bunch of ‘cool’ (translation: ‘cheesy’) lines would be to completely detract from the legend that is Mad Max.
If, after destroying everything that stands in his way, he doesn’t walk off alone into the desert, then Miller will have completely lost the point.
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