The Originals: The Mad Max franchise kicked off with 1979's enormously successful smash hit, which led to a moderately successful 1981 sequel, and another decent hit in 1985. Despite solid financial success and solid-to-strong reviews for each film, the series then went dark for 30 years, until Mad Max: Fury Road hit cinemas this year, with Tom Hardy taking over the Max Rockatansky role made famous by Mel Gibson. The results speak for themselves: Fury Road is arguably the best film in the series and has already been claimed by many to be one of the greatest action films ever made. In addition to near-universal critical acclaim, it scooped $374.7 million worldwide (the highest gross of any film in the series), all the more impressive considering its restrictive R-rating. The Sequel: Writer-director George Miller already had one sequel script ready to go before Fury Road even hit cinemas, which has now been titled Mad Max: The Wasteland, though sadly apparently won't feature Charlize Theron's scene-stealing Furiosa character. Still, on the strength of Miller's fantastic work on Fury Road, it's likely to be a riveting feast for the senses all the same. How Likely Is It?: Hardy's schedule is pretty clear for the next year so far, and Miller's not exactly up to much else, so if the script's already in solid shape, this one could easily be in production a year from now. But at the same time, nothing's certain. 6/10
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
