Furiosaflopping at the box office could actually be a blessing in disguise for the franchise, as it could lead to aMad Maxtelevision series. George Miller began the long-running apocalyptic series in 1979, and has developed the world in fiveMad Maxmovies. Mel Gibson played the titular wasteland dweller in the first three movies, but after a 30-year hiatus, Tom Hardy portrayed the character inMad Max: Fury Road. 2015’sFury Roadbreathed new life into the series, and proved that there are more stories to tell in the wasteland.
AfterMad Max: Fury Road, Miller started planning the next entry in the saga. For the fifth movie in the series, Miller surprisingly turned away from the character of Max and focused on Furiosa, who was previously introduced inFury Road. The story ofFuriosafollows the titular character after being kidnapped from her home and forced to work for the warlord Immortan Joe. Whilereviews forFuriosawere outstanding, the movie unfortunately bombed at the box office. AfterFuriosa’sbox office failure,the future of theMad Maxfranchise is uncertain.
Mad Max: Fury Roadwas a massive critical success in 2015 and also had a respectable box office haul, especially considering the franchise had been dead for 30 years. Therefore,Fury Roadproved that people were still interested in newMad Maxmovies. This led toFuriosa: A Mad Max Sagabeing greenlit. However,Furiosadid not fare as well as its predecessor at the box office.Furiosaonly grossed $173,775,790 at the worldwide box office on a massive budget of $168 million (viaBox Office Mojo).
90%
93%
81%
97%
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
BeforeFuriosa’sflop, Miller was planning a sixth entry in the series, which would have been titledMad Max: The Wasteland. However, the project’s status is now unknown after the disappointing box office performance ofFuriosa. There’s a chance that Miller might never be able to make anotherMad Maxmovie again. Therefore, he should pivot and instead develop aMad Maxtelevision series. This would not be completely out of left field for the franchise, asMiller had previously considered making aMad MaxTV show in the 1990s.
While the first twoMad Maxmovies were massive critical successes, the third movie in the series,Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, struggled more with critics. Additionally, Mel Gibson had become a massive movie star and had an increasingly busy schedule. These factors led Miller to take a break from the franchise in the mid 1980s. This break would end up lasting 30 years, but there was a brief period in the 90s when Miller was thinking of developing aMad MaxTV show.
Who Killed The World In Mad Max
Mad Max is set in an apocalyptic world destroyed by a nuclear war over oil resources, while Mad Max: Fury Road emphasised the fight over water.
In the 90s,Warner Bros. went through a list of their intellectual properties and decided thatMad Maxwould work well as a television series. Eager to capitalize on the marketing potential of theMad Maxfranchise, Warner Bros. immediately pitched Miller the idea. However, Miller was not convinced. The filmmaker was interested in the potential of a long-form story set in the world ofMad Max, but was hesitant to return to the franchise at all. The hiring of21 Jump Streetshowrunner Eric Blakeney eventually convinced the director that aMad Maxshow was worth developing.
Miller and Blakney began working on theMad Maxshow, but many of their ideas were determined to be too intense for TV.Miller didn’t want to budge on his vision of theMad Maxfranchise, which has always been quite graphic. Therefore, he ultimately decided to abandon the project. However, the abandonedMad Maxtelevision series led to Miller meeting comic artist Brendan McCarthy, who he eventually co-wroteFury Roadwith many years later.
Miller clearly wasn’t interested enough in returning to theMad Maxfranchise to make sure the 90s television show happened, but he returned to the series in a miraculous way withFury Road. After the franchise was left stagnant for three decades, Miller directed what is arguably the best movie in theMad Maxseries. After his experience developing and directingFury Road, Miller was clearly inspired enough to work onFuriosa. In the lead up to the release ofFuriosa,Miller expressed interest in making anotherMad Maxmovie.
It would be a shame if Miller is never able to present any of his story ideas for theMad Maxseries on the screen again.
Therefore,it is clear that Miller has more stories to tell in the world ofMad Max. In addition to the proposed sixth movie in the series,Mad Max: The Wasteland, Miller has also been a part of several comic books that have been set in the world of the series. These comics have continued to flesh out the wasteland that is seen in theMad Maxmovies. It would be a shame if Miller is never able to present any of his story ideas for theMad Maxseries on the screen again.
While it would be disappointing if Miller can never make hisMad Max: The Wastelandmovie, the small screen is potentially a better home for the franchise.The story ofMad Max: The Wastelandwould feature the return of Max, and show him on another adventure in the post-apocalyptic world of the series. Whether Tom Hardy returns or the role of Max is once again recast, it would be great to see the iconic character onscreen again.
Tom Hardy’s Mad Max Future Update Is Incredibly Disappointing, But I’m Not Surprised
Following Furiosa’s shocking box office flop, the highly anticipated return of Tom Hardy as Mad Max may not have the momentum to happen.
A television series would allow audiences to spend more time with Max than ever before, which would likely make him an even more popular character. Beyond Max, Miller is clearly interested in centeringMad Maxstories on other characters, just like he did with Furiosa. The structure of a potential television show would allow Miller and other writers to focus specific episodes on different characters, further fleshing out the world. Therefore, aMad Maxtelevision show could actually work incredibly well after five movies, and there is an immense amount of potential in the project.
Mad Max
Mad Max is an Australian post-apocalyptic franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. The first three films star Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky, a former police officer who seeks revenge after his family is murdered. Tom Hardy took over the role for 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, which was followed by Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starring Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa.
