Franchise news can be a necessary evil. We know Hollywood is only making film series now, and there was no less essential news this week than that Disney and Pixar had nabbed a bunch of future release dates for films that are untitled and so far have no premise ready to reveal. (Who’s pumped for “Untitled Disney Fairy Tale (Live Action)”?) All that said, we adore “Mad Max” and welcome any news about it.
Two summers ago, director George Miller brought back one of the best things to come out of the ’70s and ’80s: “Mad” Max Rockatansky, wanderer and sometimes reluctant savior of the post-apocalypse. And boy, did he bring him back: “Mad Max: Fury Road” was an action movie to end all action movies — a two-hour car chase across the Australian Outback, with endless, gorgeously staged automotive mayhem. It put the “Fast and the Furious” movies to shame. And it was made by a man in his 70s.
Fans of the series had to wait over 30 years for another installment. But that may not happen again. In an interview with The Independent, Miller says he’s been quietly working on not just one more “Mad Max” sequel, but two. The first is currently called “The Wasteland.” Talk about a great “Mad Max” title.
“Somewhere, if the planets align, there will be two other films,” Miller said.
And it just might: “Mad Max: Fury Road” wasn’t just a commercial hit, it had the most Oscar nominations of any film from 2015. (It won six, all technical trophies.) And current Rockatansky actor Tom Hardy has already revealed he’s signed on for two more films.
Miller is skimpy on details, which is fine, because we like to be surprised. But we hope he finds time to gift a spin-off to Furiosa, the one-armed badass played by Charlize Theron in “Fury Road.” Miller does say that another beloved character may come back: the “Doof Warrior” — the War Boy who does nothing but stand on a car in front of an army of speakers, wailing on a flame-thrower guitar. Who says franchise news is always bad?
