As of the writing of this post we’re still waiting for final weekend numbers for Mad Max: Fury Road‘s opening weekend, but estimates peg it around $109.4 million worldwide, which isn’t too bad for an R-rated film, though it still has some ways to go given its $150 million production budget before it covers all its costs. That, however, isn’t stopping director George Miller from discussing the future of the franchise as he’s already revealed there is “more Max to come” and has now told The Q&A Podcast with Jeff Goldsmith the title of the next entry will be Mad Max: The Wasteland.
“We’ve got one screenplay and a novella,” Miller said. “It happened because with the delays [on Fury Road], and writing all the backstories, they just expanded.” Speaking of expanding storylines, Miller revealed the origins of the flame-throwing guitar player the Doof Warrior (played by iOTA) in an interview with Fandango saying:
“One character who didn’t get his own comic was the Doof Warrior,” [Miller] revealed. “I want to tell a story about him in a comic if there’s an opportunity. For me, it was all about how someone who is blind survives in this place. How does someone weak survive the apocalypse? He survived because he was blind – because he lived deep in an unlit mine, where it was an advantage to be blind.”
So how did he wind up playing the electric guitar during battle?
“So, deep in the mine, he would sit there and eat rodents and get the water from the sea bed — and he would also play his guitar where no one could hear it. One day Immortan Joe came past, and someone heard the music. Then he was called upon when [Joe] needed a bugler or the bagpipe — someone who helps call everyone to war.”
It sounds like The Wasteland will be a sequel so it’s unlikely the Doof Warrior will ever have his story told on the big screen, but if Mad Max catches fire, perhaps a prequel novella or comic will be made. In fact, some are already on the way.
Through USA Today we learn a series of Mad Max prequel stories are on the way with the first one arriving this Wednesday, May 20 (previewed at the bottom of this post), from DC Entertainment’s Vertigo Comics. The first issue will explore the earlier days of Fury Road‘s Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) and Nux (Nicholas Hoult), one of the Joe’s loyal War Boys.
Charlize Theron‘s Imperator Furiosa will get a story telling of how she met the Immortan’s “five wives” on June 17, followed by two more chapters focusing on Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) and a hazardous trip to Gastown — and Thunderdome Plus — come out July 8 and August 5 with a special hardcover edition collecting all the stories is in stores Aug. 26.
So, while I asked if Scrooloose from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome was actually one of Immortan Joe’s War Boys we will definitely learn a little more about each of these characters such as how Nux got his name and became a War Pup as a young child and the history of Col. Joe Moore, the militant leader of a private army and motorcycle gang when “The Fall” happens, and through oil and water wars, how the man who would be the Immortan built an armada and ultimately finds his place as ruler of the Citadel.
Production designer Colin Gibson (whose work on Fury Road deserves an Oscar nomination) told “USA Today” he believes the Immortan is “the last fascist, feudal moron.”
In other news, Miller revealed to The Daily Beast (via The Playlist) that he previously courted Heath Ledger for the title role way back when production was to begin in 2001, but were affected by the 9/11 attacks and, well, the rest is history.
“Every time Heath [Ledger] would come through Sydney, he’d call in and we’d chat about Max,” Miller said. “He had that same thing that Mel and Tom Hardy have –that maleness, charisma, and restless energy, which you need to play a relatively still character. The world lost someone great when he went. Tom was the next to walk through the door that had that vibe.”
Box office will be a huge factor on the future of Mad Max, but these comics sound incredibly interesting and it seems if Fury Road finds enough support, Miller could get to work on The Wasteland sooner than later.
