George Miller Says ‘Mad Max: The Wasteland' Will Only Get Made if ‘Furiosa' Does Well

George Miller’s “Furiosa” had a miserable 4-day opening of $32M on Memorial Day weekend, $56M worldwide. The budget is said to be around $170M. It’s certainly looking as though we won’t be getting more ‘Mad Max’ movies in the near future.

The one ‘Mad Max’ film that many fans have been demanding, for years now, is “The Wasteland,” which is set a year before “Fury Road,” and would star Tom Hardy in the lead role. In 2017, Miller was apparently in pre-production on ‘The Wasteland’ and even had Hardy signed up to do it. That is until Miller sued his studio Warner Bros. for not paying him a bonus that was contractually obligated by contract.

Now, Miller has given us an update on “The Wasteland.” In an interview conducted just a few days before “Furiosa” opened in theaters, via the Happy. Sad. Confused. podcast, Miller confirmed that film’s existence would all depend on how well “Furiosa” does:

I’m still figuring out what to do with [‘The Wasteland’]. I’m just waiting to see the reception on ‘Furiosa.’ If it all lines up, then we’ll go ahead with it.

Miller’s comments now read as very bleak since I don’t even think he could foresee how terribly “Furiosa” would do at the box-office. He adds that the film would have “a lot of action” in it and that it would tackle Hardy’s journey with a young mother.

Miller will either have to find way to severely cut the budget of “The Wasteland,” or it’s just never going to happen. I can’t see Warner Bros. deciding to hop onboard another ‘Max’ movie this soon after the last one. I believe we’re done with this franchise.

Miller had previously confirmed that he has two scripts ready to go. To be fair, Miller owns the rights to the Mad Max characters. They're his. So, while we might not see any more films, we also won't be seeing any blatant cash grabs banking on the franchise name alone.  

Miller’s age is another factor to consider. He’s 79. The further “The Wasteland” gets delayed, the more unlikely he would have the stamina and willingness to embark on making the film, which, by all accounts, is a grueling experience to take on. The amount of detail to have to put into these movies is not like, say, John Huston, in his final years, directing a chamber piece sitting on a wheelchair with an oxygen tank ala 1987’s "The Dead."