'Mad Max 4' Confirmed

If you're a fan of the post-apocalyptic "Mad Max" trilogy that boosted Mel Gibson into stardom, you may either love or hate the news that "Mad Max 4" is now officially in the works.

While George Miller (director of the original films) was talking about possibly making the film into an animated feature, it is now going to be live-action with a possible large budget.

THR published a story confirming that "Mad Max 4," now officially titled "Fury Road," is actually already ready to go into production in Sydney and in New South Wales next year. They did not confirm any of the actors, but did mention that the budget would be close to $100 million, despite having no studio funding or backing for the project.

One of the local papers has a few quotes from Miller saying that "Fury Road" will put New South Wales back on the map as a filmmaking destination.

"The 'Mad Max' films are iconic," NSW Premier Rees said. "In the hands of director George Miller, we will see one of the largest and most ambitious live-action films ever made in Australia. This is a clear vote of confidence in Australian expertise. This proves that Sydney is an international contender for major film production."

On the casting front, Mel Gibson will not return as the iconic character but instead will be replaced by a new actor. Rumors have come out of E! Online stating that Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy are director George Miller's top choices to star in "Mad Max 4."

According to E!, this is all early in development anyway: "the studio has yet to sign off on Miller's choices, and no formal offers have been made," meaning it could all change at a moment's notice.

Later in the day another rumor hit, this time coming from ABC News out of Australia. It claims that Sam Worthington is rumored to be playing the lead, not Tom Hardy.

There's always the chance that both of them could end up being in "Fury Road," with Hardy playing a villain or sidekick.

I'm excited to see this project get underway and I hope we get confirmed casting news soon, as I'm anxiously awaiting to see who George Miller has lined up in place of Mel Gibson, since he was the one who made the original movies so great.

George Miller talks about the project in a video which is included below...


More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Source: First Showing (1,2), The Geek Files