We haven’t talked much about the Mad Max sequel, Fury Road, probably because we’ve been hearing rumors about it since 2007. At one point it was supposedly being developed as a 3D film in conjunction with a videogame, and was reported to have a $100 million budget. No word on the videogame thing, but all the other stuff seems to have been true. It stars pillow-lipped superstar Tom Hardy (who, to the production’s credit, was hired long before The Dark Knight Rises made him a household name), Charlize Theron, and Nicholas Hoult, and principal photography, under original Mad Max (and Happy Feet) director George Miller, wrapped Monday. The picture above (via AICN) is a gift Hardy gave the crew on the last day of shooting. A signed picture of yourself? Jeez, presumptuous much? Why not a used hanky? Anyway, Mad Max: Fury Road is scheduled to open in 2014, presumably after a long break to add vroom-vroom sounds.

Mad Max: Fury Road has completed principal photography after a six-month shoot in Namibia and South Africa.
It is the fourth film in the Mad Max series, which originally made Mel Gibson a star, and will attempt to revive the apocalyptic franchise after almost 30 years. Fury Road follows Mad Max (Tom Hardy), who is caught up with a group of people fleeing across the Wasteland in a war rig driven by Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), according to a report by South Africa’s National Film & Video Foundation. [IF.au via ThePlaylist]

So, uh… is it cold in this future desert? Because he looks a little overdressed. Scarves to protect your delicate neck meat from a sun and sand burn seems a tad precious for a post-apocalyptic wasteland, but maybe it’s must me.

In any case, if “Fury Road” succeeds in reviving the franchise, they’re going to need new titles. Lots of them. No one uses simple numbers anymore. Luckily, I’ve got some suggestions:

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There’ve been rumblings about George Miller making a Mad Max sequel /prequel/whatever going back almost three years, when it was originally conceived as a 3D animated feature. Since then, there have been so many rumors, counter-rumors, and delays, that I just started ignoring it, figuring it would be like one of those movies that everyone talks about that never happen, like Arrested Development or Justice League. But as recently as last month, Tom Hardy was telling Collider that he’s still attached to star (as the new Mad Max) alongside Charlize Theron, and that filming was set to begin in April.

Then a few days ago, someone uploaded these new pictures — one of what looks like an old Mercedes body on top of a semi-truck chassis, the other of a dune buggy-looking thing — to a Mad Max message board, writing:

On the 19th Sept 2011, I pulled into the Little Topar Road House which is between Wilcannia and Broken Hill to partaking in some refreshments.
There were 2 semies with vehicles on board, one of the tarps was torn.
I thought it was a Monster Truck of some sought
I asked the truckie what they were for and he said
Vehcles for the Mad Max 4 Movie, they were transporting them back to Sydney. They were apparently going to be taken to South Africa for filming as the area around Broken Hill was to green.
So I grabed the camara and some pics before they took off
Enjoy

Excuse the spelling and grammar, but the photographer appears to have been some Australian borderline illiterate a lá Chopper. “Yeh, Oy call a truck drivah a ‘truckie,’ a fella in a taxi a ‘cabo,’ and a bloke on foot a ‘thongwobblah.’ Whoy, what language didja think Oy was speakin’, mate?”

Anyway, I’m torn. A George Miller-directed Mad Max reboot sounds pretty horrible, but Tom Hardy is an inarguable badass. Get Peter Dinklage on board as some kind of side kick and it would have to be amazing.

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British actor Tom Hardy, currently drawing rave reviews for his work in Bronson, has been confirmed as the lead in Mad Max 4: Fury Road, opposite Charlize Theron.  Written and directed by George Miller, it will be the first Mad Max film since 1985.  No word yet on plot or who Charlize Theron would play but oh God I’m so bored by this story.

[Variety]

A fourth Mad Max movie has been threatened for a long time now, but I didn’t start to take it seriously until The Daily Telegraph confirmed the production and director George Miller (who directed the first three) went on ABC news (the Australian one) to talk about it.  He says that despite the recent rumors about Charlize Theron and Bronson‘s Tom Hardy, no cast is confirmed.  I’ve got the whole clip after the jump, but I wouldn’t recommend watching it because it’s really boring and the screencap above is about as much of the cars as you’re going to see.

Why am I not excited for Mad Max 4?  Because they’ve already made this movie 100 times.  George Miller made it three times himself.  Neil Marshall made it last year, it was called Doomsday (for comparison, watch this clip and then watch this), with Rhona Mitra playing Mel Gibson.  The original starred Mel Gibson as a cop wandering through a barren wasteland following an apocalyptic war.  It’s a timeless story, because as any Gibson will tell you, the Jews are always starting wars.  The only solution is having an awesome car.

UPDATE: THR has seemingly confirmed the production, reporting it has $100 million budget without studio backing. And no, I don’t know how that’s possible either.
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Yeah, so George Miller (who was once attached to the Justice League debacle) is making Mad Max IV, and only 24 years after Mad Max 3!  It’s going to be 3-D animated, Mel Gibson will not be participating, and Miller will be developing a video game in conjunction with the movie.  Miller’s last movie was Happy Feet in 2006, which I haven’t seen, and his last movie I’ve heard of before that was 1992′s Lorenzo’s Oil.  I’m not sure what he was doing for all those years in between.  Perhaps seeing how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop or running a race against an arrogant hare.  Anyway, I wish him all the best on selling videogames before I go back to not giving a sh-t about him for the next 20 years.

Meanwhile, my script for Slightly Perturbed Steve silently collects dust. Subtlety is dead I tell you.

[MTV]