Mad Max 5 FAQ: Everything We Know About The Wasteland [Updated]

What lies beyond Fury Road?

Out of all the films this year, Mad Max: Fury Road might just be the one that blew us away the most. Obviously, the original trilogy is renowned for really kicking off the post-apocalyptic genre and The Road Warrior in particular is considered an undisputed classic. But Fury Road…

… it was just the best. There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind it’s going to be considered an action classic, so it’s no surprise that we’re all hungry for a sequel. Well, the good news is there’s definite movement on that front. Fury Road did decent business, making back more than twice its budget at the box office. The spectacular word of mouth, however, seems to be what’s helping spearhead the development on Mad Max 5.

But what do we really know about the production and story? Precious little, but we’re here to tell you all the information there is in this handy FAQ. So, strap in and get your nitrous ready, it’s time to talk about Mad Max 5.

[Update 11/4/2015] We’ve added new information from George Miller himself in the title section and added a section that gives his answer on whether Mel Gibson will ever play Max Rockatansky again. Check it out below!

What’s the title?

The working title of the film is Mad Max: The Wasteland. Like every working title, however, that’s subject to change.

[Update 11/4/15] In an interview with Deadline Fury Road director George Miller gives an update on the status of the project and the title:

“The more I speculate about what’s happening, the more I try to avoid spoilers this far out, and also I find myself talking around in circles. So the best thing I can say is that we’re definitely in discussion about making more of these, but the timing of it, I’m really not sure. Probably won’t be called Wasteland. I can say that. It was just the working title we gave it.”

Well, despite the fact that the movie probably won’t go by the title The Wasteland, it was obviously given that working title for a reason… so let’s speculate on what it could mean:

We wonder if it isn’t about Max taking a journey into the deep desert for some reason. Perhaps there’s a gold rush to get to an oasis like the one Max discovered in Beyond Thunderdome? If that’s the case, we imagine the catch would be getting there is pretty difficult because you have to travel through a (the) wasteland.

Of course, that’s all just speculation.

Who’s writing and directing?

George Miller, writer and director of the last four Mad Max films, will be writing and directing this installment.

Who’s in the cast?

At the moment, all we know is that Tom Hardy is contracted to return as Max. In fact, he’s under contract for three films, with Fury Road being the first.

Could Mel Gibson return as Max?

[Update 11/4/2015] No. George Miller pretty much debunked the idea of Mel Gibson ever returning in his interview with Deadline:

“Not in these movies, for a very simple reason. If Mel, who is Max in a lot of people’s memories, appeared in the next movie, it would pull audiences out of the movie for a bit, and we worked so hard to keep people immersed in the movie as much as possible. It would be like, I don’t know, seeing Roger Moore appearing in a Daniel Craig James Bond movie. It would be fun, but it would also pull you out of the experience of the movie.”

What about Furiosa?

According to George Miller, she will not be returning in the next film. She may, however, show up in another future installment:

“She’s not in the Mad Max [sequel] story, but in one of the stories there’s an interaction between [Max and Furiosa]. I can’t really say more than that because it’s still in progress.”

What’s the story?

We don’t know, though we know for certain it was created during the long gestation period for Fury Road in the 2000s, “In order to tell this story, we came up with two others. We’ve written the screenplay to one and the novelization of another – but it’s a very rough novel. We kept working on them while we were working on other things.”

So, at the very least they have The Wasteland more or less ready to shoot, though we wouldn’t be surprised if it goes through some revisions before they head to production. As for Max’s adventures after that, we don’t know. If Max does meet Furiosa again, it will probably be in the “rough novel” they’ve created… though that term could just be another way of saying “detailed outline” for a sixth film.

So, it’ll take place after Fury Road?

Presumably, yes. The sequels have all taken place after the previous adventure, though it’s usually years after. Many accounts have Beyond Thunderdome taking place at least a decade after The Road Warrior, though we doubt The Wasteland will take place that long after Fury Road.

Aside from that, we really have no idea.

When will it be out?

Again, we don’t know. Obviously, we hope it’s sooner rather than later. However, Miller has expressed much desire to do a smaller film without special effects before heading back to the wasteland.

Keep in mind making Fury Road was a very intense affair, with the production actually being shut down several times over many years until the stars aligned for the version we received. We don’t blame Miller for wanting to take a break… but we still are anxious to see what he’s cooked up next.

Until them we’ll keep this FAQ up to date with all the information available about the film!