A reader recently asked why George Miller hasn’t been questioned by any journalist about Mel Gibson possibly returning to the ‘Mad Max’ franchise.
Do I need to state the obvious? Gibson is persona non grata in Hollywood. He’s not going to star in any IP blockbusters. That’s why there might not be a “Lethal Weapon 5,” despite the late Richard Donner personally asking Gibson, right before his death, to take over the script and direct it.
It’s not like Miller hasn’t been asked about Gibson either. I recently uncovered an Interview, via YouTube channel “Jake’s Takes”, where he was questioned about if we’ll ever get to see Gibson again as Max and, obviously, Miller gave the most politically correct answer, especially since he and Gibson, both Aussies, are still friends:
There’s no story that I have that has an older Max […] I don’t know what happens to Max when he gets into his 60s. I haven’t even thought about that.
There you have it. I don’t think we’ll be seeing Gibson as Max ever again. Hell, after the recent “Furiosa” tanking, we might not ever see another ‘Mad Max’ movie again. A real shame.
There was a lot of potential in Tom Hardy returning for “The Wasteland,” but Miller, 79, had to go ahead and make a spinoff that didn’t even involve Max, but rather “Furiosa,” and Charlize Theron didn’t even end up reprising her iconic role. Why didn’t Miller bring back Theron? Because he saw Scorsese’s “The Irishman” and got turned off by the de-aging process.
Back to Gibson, he’s doing his thing right now, having just directed the mid-budget action movie, “Flight Risk” and, hopefully, in the next few months, embarking on his “Passion of the Christ” sequel, ‘Resurrection.’ He’s also starred in a bunch of B-movies these last few years, including this year’s upcoming “Boneyard.”