Summary
TheMad Maxmovies might have suffered a setback at the box office in its most recent outing, but fans can rest easy about the next potential project eventually coming to theaters despite the mixed performance of the last entry in the franchise.
Mad Maxhas been a post-apocalyptic staple in popular culture since the first film released in the 1970s, despite the franchise taking a thirty-year break before being revitalized in 2015 with the critically acclaimedMad Max: Fury Road.This brought the franchise into the modern era, and both new and returning fans were eager for more of the same. They would get their wish with the announcement of the prequel filmFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga,which would explore the past of its titular character. Hitting theaters in 2024, the prequel was yet another critical success on par with previous entries, and yetFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga struggled at the box office. This lack of proportional financial success was seen as a problem by fans, as franchise creator George Miller had indicatedFuriosa’s reception would be critical to greenlighting his nextMad Maxproject.
Some have argued thatFuriosa’sbox office failure shouldn’t hold back the nextMad Maxmovie, as the prequel was well-received despite the low ticket sales. However, there’s been no indication that anything else was going on behind the scenes until now. In a recent interview withVulture, Miller was asked about developing new projects in the franchise followingFuriosa’sbad box office, and he revealed that there has actually been some progress on another entry in the franchise. “We’ve got another script,” Miller confirmed. “But having been doing this long enough where I’m habituated to storytelling, I find myself with way too many stories—not only in my head, but in the form of screenplays or at least very detailed notes that are within reach of screenplays. I’m a professional daydreamer, really.” This is encouraging news for fans, but they might not be getting it anytime soon, as Miller confirmed before moving on.
So, there’s lots of stories. Indeed, one of them is a Mad Max. It is not something I would do next, because there’s two things I’m keen to do next. But if for whatever reason the planets align, you can never tell. Too often, you’re lining up to do a movie and then something happens. Some things fall into place and some don’t, so all I can say is we’ll see.
While Miller didn’t give any specifics, there are only really two directions that the franchise could go in for its next entry. The first possibility would be a new mainline film in theMad Maxmovie series that picks up from whereFury Roadleft off. Current franchise lead Tom Hardy revealed back in 2015 that he was signed on for three moreMad Maxfilms, so it’s clear that there are long-term plans for the franchise to move forward in the timeline. However, the project that Miller was most likely referring to wasMad Max: The Wasteland,another prequel film that would chronicle Max’s adventures in the year leading up to the start ofFury Road.While promotingFuriosa,Miller revealed that he’d written a novella about these events alongside Nico Lathouris. That lines up with his comments about having something close to a full screenplay, and could be a good sign that the project will have the samedeceptively deep writing thatMad Max: Fury Roaddid.
While he’s accomplished a lot over his long career, it’s hard to argue against the fact thattheMad Maxfranchise is easily Miller’s best and most enduring work. There’s a lot more that could be explored in that world, and the accomplished filmmaker still has a ton of ideas to get through as well. It would be a shame for fans not to see what else Miller has up his sleeve. Whether it’sMad Max: The Wastelandor some other project that he’s scripted up, fans are certainly eager to see it. Hopefully, this next one does better at the box office thanFuriosadid.
