While some might have predicted it, you wouldn’t be wrong in saying that most people were surprised at the low box office debut for “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.” The film has made approximately $33 million over the four-day holiday weekend, which is one of the worst Memorial Weekend debuts in decades. That would seemingly stop all discussion about more ‘Mad Max’ films in the near future, which means ‘The Wasteland’ might not ever see the light of day.
Speaking on the Happy. Sad. Confused. podcast, George Miller was asked about the future of the ‘Mad Max’ franchise. Specifically, he was asked if “Mad Max: The Wasteland” would ever see the light of day. The filmmaker didn’t promise anything, but he confirmed that the potential film takes place a year before ‘Fury Road’ and follows Max as he is joined by a young mother. In comparing ‘The Wasteland’ with his most recent ‘Mad Max’ films, he feels that it’s much more equivalent to a saga such as ‘Furiosa.’
“I’d say that it certainly has a lot of action in it, but it is also a saga,” said Miller. “It’s a year-long story. ‘Fury Road’ happened over three days and two nights. You could almost say that the first act, some part of the second act, and the third act mostly play in real time. Quite a different kettle of fish than ‘Furiosa.’”
As for whether or not we’ll see ‘The Wasteland,’ Miller confirmed that it all depends on how well ‘Furiosa’ does.
“I’m still figuring out what to do with [‘The Wasteland’],” he added. “I’m just waiting to see the reception on ‘Furiosa.’ If it all lines up, then we’ll go ahead with it.”
Yeah, and that’s where the problem lies. As expensive and as grueling the production of the ‘Mad Max’ films have been, it seems unlikely that Warner Bros. would quickly shell out another huge check to George Miller for a new ‘Mad Max’ film right now, even though ‘Furiosa’ is doing really well with critics and fans. But the box office paints a grim picture.
Perhaps Miller would be open to doing ‘The Wasteland’ in a different format. We already know that he thought about doing ‘Furiosa’ as an anime, so maybe he could tell his final ‘Mad Max’ story in that way? We’ll just have to wait and see. As of now, it seems that live-action ‘The Wasteland’ just won’t be happening anytime soon.