It has been thirty years since the last MAD MAX movie hit theaters. Back in 1985, Mel Gibson was still in his prime. Going into the late 1990s, Gibson was still in great shape and leading action-oriented movies of all sorts. Now, in 2015, we are about to get the long awaited MAD MAX: FURY ROAD and Mel is nowhere to be found.
There are tons of reboots and remakes out there that include the stars of the original films both within continuity and as a nod to the audience. The fact that, for many, Mel Gibson is the one true Mad Max makes it seem a little odd that there would be no cameo for him in FURY ROAD. In a recent interview with The Huffington Post, director George Miller explained how the film almost starred Gibson.
We were going to back in 2000 and 2001. We were going to do it with Mel and we were within reach of doing it with Mel. Then 9/11 happened and the American dollar fell against the Australian dollar. The budget ballooned. There was a lot of pressure at Warner Bros. for me to do “Happy Feet” back then because there was only a small window where they could get the digital house. So we went on to do that. By the time we were ready for “Fury Road” again, Mel had all those troubles. It also definitely got to the stage where it wasn’t like “Unforgiven,” where it plays with an older guy. It was definitely the younger guy, the same guy.
What this tells me is that there are stories George Miller wanted to tell about Max in his younger days, but it also sounds like there is plenty of room for older, grizzled Max tales as well. If that truly is the case, Gibson may still have a chance to don the leather and shotgun once more. Until then, we will just have to do with what looks like one of the most badass movies in a long time.
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD hits theaters on May 15th.