To say that the process of getting MAD MAX: FURY ROAD to cinema screens took a long time would be an understatement. In fact, it took so long that talk of making a sequel to it started at least five years ago. Around that time, MAD MAX creator George Miller confirmed that a screenplay had been written for a fifth installment in the series, and that work was being done on a script for a sixth as well.
Now that FURY ROAD is in theatres and earning a lot of praise from audience members, Miller has given an update on his hopes to continue expanding the franchise, and some things have changed over the years.
Appearing on the podcast The Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith, the filmmaker said:
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.
So now it appears that the sixth story will be told through prose rather than on film.
Miller went on to reveal the title on the screenplay. It was previously rumored that a sequel to FURY ROAD might be titled MAD MAX: FURIOSA, the subtitle being the name of the character Charlize Theron plays in the new movie. That isn't the case now. Miller says that the next MAD MAX, if it happens, will be called MAD MAX: THE WASTELAND.
I'm a poor sap who has yet to see MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, but I intend to fix that as soon as possible. As a fan of the earlier trilogy and the world Miller has created, I say let the man spend as much time in the wasteland as he wants to.
Charlize Theron, out of character