Heartbreaking stuff, but not completely unexpected.
George Miller has been a bit wishy-washy about doing a follow-up to FURY ROAD, citing the long production schedule and delays, both avoidable and unavoidable, that plagued the shoot. Now, the director has confirmed it to Page Six: he’s done with the world of MAD MAX.
“I’ve shot in Australia in a field of wild flowers and flat red earth when it rained heavily forever. We had to wait 18 months and every return to the US was 27 hours. Those MAD MAXes take forever. I won’t do those anymore.”
Before we all sharpen our pitchforks and storm Miller’s house, let’s remember that the guy is a. 70 years old and b. obviously tired after nearly a decade of working on this movie. If he wants to do absolutely anything else with his career at this point, he’s gotta prioritize that over going back to the desert to build cars for a half-decade.
I, personally, would be fine if FURY ROAD was the end of Max’s story, but given the massive critical and audience reception the movie’s gotten, that might not gel with WB’s plans. Given that Miller has been the only guy to direct a MAD MAX movie (aside from his THUNDERDOME co-director, Goerge Ogilvie), and just crafted what many (not myself) consider to be the best film of the series so far, how badly do we need to see someone else take a crack at this weird, unique cinematic world? Furiosa’s clearly out of the picture, and Hardy’s interpretation of Max isn’t exactly the most welcoming or elastic portrayal in the world, so what would a MAX 5 be like? Him helping out yet another colony of folks who need his help and make him a little softer? Do we really need to see another two hours+ of Max learning to let some more of the Wasteland's innocents into his heart?
Obviously, if Miller was directing, and throwing the weight of his nearly 40 years of experience with this character behind it, my concerns would be less, but if that’s not the case, which it now seems absolutely not to be, then I say let sleeping Dogs lie.
Would you guys be interested in a MAD MAX sans George Miller??
