The Mad Max franchise refers to a series of futuristic films, taking place in the "Mad Max Universe", that tell a story of breakdown of society, murder, and vengeance. The first Mad Max was an Australian action film directed by George Miller and written by Miller and Byron Kennedy, released in 1979. It produced two sequels, Mad Max 2, also known as The Road Warrior, in 1981 and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome in 1985. The series has had a lasting influence on apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction ever since.
An animated feature film sequel and video game tie-in are both currently in pre-production, with a predicted release date of 2011 or 2012.[1] In May 2009, it was reported that location scouting was underway for a new live action filming of Mad Max 4: Fury Road.[2]
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Mad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and written by Miller and Byron Kennedy. It tells a story of breakdown of society, murder and vengeance. The film, starring the then-little-known Mel Gibson, was released internationally in 1980. It became a top-grossing Australian film and has been credited for further opening the global market to Australian New Wave films.
Mad Max 2 (also known as The Road Warrior in the U.S., and Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior) is a 1981 Australian post-apocalyptic action film directed by George Miller. This sequel to Miller's 1979 film Mad Max was a worldwide box office success that further launched the career of lead actor Mel Gibson. The film's tale of a community of settlers moved to defend themselves against a roving band of marauders follows an archetypal "Western" frontier movie motif, as does Max's role as a hardened man who rediscovers his humanity.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is a 1985 film, the third installment in the action movie Mad Max franchise. The film was directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie, and starred Mel Gibson and Tina Turner. The original music score was composed by Maurice Jarre. George Miller, director of the first two Mad Max movies, lost interest in the project after his friend and producer Byron Kennedy was killed in a helicopter crash while location scouting. Miller later agreed to direct the action sequences.
| Film | Year | Director | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Music | Cinematography | Editing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mad Max | 1979 | George Miller | George Miller Byron Kennedy James McCausland |
Byron Kennedy Bill Miller |
Brian May | David Eggby | Cliff Hayes Tony Paterson |
| Mad Max 2 | 1981 | George Miller | Terry Hayes George Miller Brian Hannant |
Byron Kennedy | Brian May | Dean Semler | David Stiven Michael Balson Tim Wellburn |
| Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome |
1985 | George Miller George Ogilvie |
Terry Hayes George Miller |
Terry Hayes George Miller Doug Mitchell |
Maurice Jarre (score) Lyle/Britten/Knight (songs) |
Dean Semler | Richard Francis-Bruce |
Plans for the fourth film of the Mad Max series, tentatively known as Mad Max 4: Fury Road, or simply Mad Max 4,[3] hit financial difficulties early on, and was in development hell for around 25 years. George Miller announced in 2003 that a script had been written for a fourth film, and that pre-production was in the early stages.[4] Although the project was given the green light for a $100 million USD budget to begin shooting in Australia in May 2003, Mad Max 4 almost immediately entered hiatus due to security concerns related to trying to film in Namibia, because the United States and many other countries have tightened travel and shipping restrictions. With the outbreak of the Iraq War, Mad Max 4 was (at that time) abandoned as what was a potentially politically sensitive film.
In November 2006, George Miller had stated that he still had full intentions to make Fury Road, telling the press that he was considering doing the film without Mel Gibson, saying, “There's a real hope. The last thing I wanted to do is another Mad Max, but this script came along, and I'm completely carried away with it."[5][6] The film's screenplay was co-written with cult British comic creator Brendan McCarthy, who also designed many of the new characters and vehicles.
Miller again confirmed his desire to make another Mad Max at the 2007 Aurora film maker initiative. However, he did say he thought Mel Gibson would not be interested in the film because he is too old.[7][8]
On 5 March 2009, it was announced that an R-rated 3D animation feature film was now in pre-production taking much of the plot from Fury Road,[9] (Mad Max co-creator and director George Miller has already directed an animated feature film - the acclaimed 2006 computer animated Happy Feet), although Mel Gibson will not feature as a voice talent and Miller is looking for a "different route", a "renaissance" of the franchise. Miller cites the famous 1988 Japanese anime sci-fi post-apocalyptic feature film Akira as an inspiration for what he wants to do with the franchise. George Miller is also developing an action-adventure tie-in video game based on the fourth film, along with God of War II video game designer Cory Barlog. Both projects are expected to take 2 to 2½ years, according to Miller, with a release date in either 2011 or 2012.[1] The upcoming Fury Road film would be produced at Dr.D Studios, a digital art studios founded in 2008 by George Miller and Doug Mitchell.
On 18 May 2009, however, it was reported that location scouting was underway for a new live action filming of "Mad Max 4".[2] Regardless of that decision, during a film conference held on 8 June 2009 Miller has confirmed that an anime film produced by North Star Productions (famous for their Hokuto No Ken animated films, which are inspired by the Mad Max films) is most likely to happen.
After exploring the possibility of an animated 3D-film, George Miller stated that a live-action sequel is still a possibility, and location scouting for the Mad Max sequel began in May 2009.[10] Australian press releases of 18 May 2009 said:
It was announced by George Miller on 24 October 2009, that filming of Fury Road would commence at Broken Hill in New South Wales in early 2011,[13] ending years of speculation. This announcement attracted widespread media attention in Australia, with the popular speculation at that time on whether Mel Gibson would return as Max,[14] even though this had previously been considered unlikely.
On 29 October 2009, it was announced that British actor Tom Hardy was in negotiations to take the lead role of Max, and Charlize Theron will also play a major role. The plot will be set shortly after the events of Beyond Thunderdome.[15] In June 2010, Hardy announced on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross that he will play the title role in a new version of Mad Max.[16]
One source reported in July 2010 that Miller would shoot two Mad Max films back-to-back, Mad Max: Fury Road and Mad Max: Furiosa. Despite wide dissemination, no subsequent reports confirmed this in the interim.[17]
In November 2011, filming was moved from Broken Hill, in the New South Wales outback, to Namibia, after unexpected heavy rains turned the desert there into a lush landscape of wildflowers, inappropriate for the look of the movie.[18]
A wide range of Mad Max items have been produced over the years, including videos, books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, board and video games, action figures, car models, and also souvenir magazines, t-shirts, and stickers.[19]
DVDs of all of the movies are available.
Mad Max is a 1990 NES game that is based on the film Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. The object is to survive life after the end of the world by battling survivalists and collecting valuable food, water, gasoline, and money. The game is similar to Outlander released in 1992 for Sega Genesis and SNES.
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