According to a new rumor, a sequel to George Miller’s acclaimed action film Mad Max: Fury Road is beginning to move ahead. Released in 2015, Fury Road continued the saga of post-apocalyptic Road Warrior Mad Max, with Tom Hardy replacing Mel Gibson in the driver’s seat and Charlize Theron joining the circus as steely warrior Furiosa.
Despite being released decades after Miller wrapped up the first Mad Max trilogy with Beyond Thunderdome, Fury Road proved that the director could still make an action movie like no one else. Besides thundering to $378 million in worldwide box office grosses, Fury Road also snagged a surprising 10 Oscar nominations including one for Best Picture. Miller says he wants to revisit the world of Mad Max at least one more time, and indeed has penned a script for a sequel called Mad Max: The Wasteland, but legal entanglements have put any possible Fury Road follow-up on indefinite hold.
Related: Mad Max: The Wasteland Delay Explained - Why The Fury Road Sequel Is Taking So Long
With four years now having elapsed since Fury Road hit theaters, and George Miller himself in his early 70s, prospects for another Mad Max adventure seem dimmer all the time. However, according to a new rumor, there are possible stirrings that another Mad Max could be moving forward after all. While commenting on Paramount's decision to stop production on World War Z 2, Fandango managing editor Erik Davis said he’s hearing whispers that a sequel to Fury Road could be “beginning to rev its engines.” But he could offer no more details. It’s important to note that this report remains in the rumor category and should be taken with a grain of salt.
Though it may still be too early to get excited about a possible Fury Road sequel making its way to theaters, it's definitely true that George Miller has plans to revisit the universe he created through his original Mad Max trilogy and the belated follow-up Fury Road. While developing Fury Road, Miller actually completed two other scripts, one revolving around Furiosa and another entitled Mad Max: The Wasteland. Miller has said that The Wasteland would not be a direct sequel to Fury Road, but would instead take place in the same universe, and would be smaller in scale. Given Miller’s lack of commitment to continuity, it would be no shock to see him go back to the wastelands of Mad Max to explore entirely different characters than we've seen before (but with a new incarnation of Max to provide a through-line).
As for the iconic Furiosa, Charlize Theron has said she’s game to revisit the character, but implores George Miller to hurry up as neither of them are getting any younger. It’s not yet known what script would form the basis for any Fury Road sequel, but there are at least two candidates between Furiosa and The Wasteland. And by now, it’s possible Miller may have whipped up something entirely new that hasn't been hinted at before. One thing everyone knows about Miller is that he’s patient and is willing to nurse a movie through development for a long time. The follow-up to Mad Max: Fury Road may still be a long shot to happen, but never count out George Miller.
More: 19 CRAZY SECRETS BEHIND THE MAKING OF MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
Source: Erik Davis/Twitter