In a recent interview with, “The Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith,” George Miller, the sole head of the “Max Max” Film Franchise, revealed that the next film in said franchise will be entitled, “Mad Max: The Wasteland.” It is interesting to note that this statement came amongst a discussion about the Mythos of Miller’s Franchise, during which he made the following claims, “We’ve got one screenplay and a novella. It happened because with the delays [on Fury Road], and writing all the backstories, they just expanded…” However, this interview holds much more than just the future of the "Max Max" Franchise. According to an article published on this interview by the News Site IndieWire, Heath Ledger was originally intended to take over the Role of the Franchises Protaginist, Max Rockastacky, after Mel Gibson's infamous antisemetic breakdown early in the 2000s. However, after Ledger's turn as The Joker in Cristopher Nolan's, "The Dark Knight," and subsequent death, another actor had to be sought out for the role. The following is a quote from George Miller Himself describing this process, given to the Daily Mail, and included in the previously mentioned IndieWire article, "Every time Heath [Ledger] would come through Sydney, he’d call in and we’d chat about Max.He had that same thing that Mel and Tom Hardy have —that maleness, charisma, and restless energy, which you need to play a relatively still character. The world lost someone great when he went. Tom was the next to walk through the door that had that vibe." The following quote from IndieWire can also be said to be rather pertinent, given its depiction of the Franchises continual struggles in the pursuit of a Fourth Installment, "One of the reasons 'Fury Road' took so long to happen was that it was just one obstacle after another in trying to get it made. The film was originally slated to film in 2001, but the 9/11 attacks drastically affected everything from the power of the American dollar to insurance costs for the production. And not long after Mel Gibson had his well publicized meltdown and the role of Max needed to be recast, one of Hollywood's brightest talents at the time was considered as such." This is quite a lot of information to sift through, especially given the recent success of Miller's, "Mad Max: Fury Road," so feel free to leave your thoughts down below.
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