George Miller is about to get really busy.. He’s already set up to direct the live action Justice League of America but he’ll also be doing two other movies, concurrently.. After over two decades, George Miller might finally be ready to take Mad Max past Beyond Thunderdome and onto Fury Road.. After several false starts, one major budget blowout and a thrillion chuckles, Mad Max 4: Fury Road is finally juiced and ready to go.. Its production quarters re - opened at Fox Studios in Sydney this week..

With news that Mad Max 4: Fury Road is back on track there’s also news that Miller won’t be bringing back Mel Gibson as the titular angry Max, but will instead cast someone with a younger face.. Now I don’t know how I feel about a Mad Max movie without Mel Gibson, but I guess it had to happen.. I don’t know the history of the two men, but my guess is that it was Gibson who said ‘ No ‘ to Miller, and not the other way around..

The film was originally given a budget of $100 million, back when Mel Gibson was still attached to star, but conflicts in Africa ( Where the film was to be shot ) pushed production into hiatus.. For the past few years, Miller has been eager to re - start Fury Road, claiming back in March that he was still moving ahead, but without Gibson in the lead role, opting instead for a ” younger face..”

Mad Max 4: Fury Road is based on a script from British comic book artist / writer Brendan McCarthy, well that is what a source emailed me..

So, is this good news? Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome was widely considered a disappointment, and fans might worry about tarnishing the series further.. On the other hand, I would be stoked to see what they can do with this franchise using today’s special effects.. I am also glad to see that it.s an actual sequel rather than another one of these damn remakes! There were rumours a while back that Paul Walker or Heath Ledger might be up for the lead role.. Who would you like to see play Mad Max instead of Gibson?