Credit must always be given where it is due: after years of dormancy, the Mad Max franchise proved not only that it still has some fuel left in the tank, but that the franchise driver has as sharp of an eye as ever. All car puns aside, George Miller showed definitively with Mad Max: Fury Road that he’s a master filmmaker with few equals. For this reason many felt a hard forearm shiver to the gut when it came out recently that Miller claimed he did not want to do another Mad Max film. Now it seems the iconic director has gotten wind of these reports and he would like to clear a thing or two up.
Speaking with EW, George Miller explained that he most certainly has the desire to helm another Mad Max film; he just doesn’t want it to be his next film. He clarified:
All I said was it won’t be the film I do next. I’d like to do something smaller, quick — before I go back to the wasteland.
Miller has been extremely vocal about just how grueling the shoot for Fury Road was. Quite frankly, between braving the elements and the sheer amount of time it took to complete the film, we can't say we blame him if the rumors had been true and he didn't want to return. However, based on this new information, it seems that many people misinterpreted his intentions with regards to the Mad Max franchise. It’s not that he wants to step away from the universe that made him an icon, he just wants a brief reprieve on a decidedly easier film shoot before he heads back out into the desert.
We have to come right out and admit it: knowing that George Miller is still all in for more Mad Max feels like a definite win for audiences. In an age defined by run of the mill blockbusters and CGI-heavy action set pieces, he was able to make Fury Road – a bombastic orgy of destruction – almost entirely with practical effects. If nothing else, having Miller out in the field producing movies like this should be a signal to fledgling filmmakers that computers can’t do everything, and sometimes to make a great film you’re going to have to get your hands a little dirty if you want to make it to the Academy Awards.
So while George Miller will most likely get behind the camera for another Mad Max outing, he would like to give it a bit of time. As long as he promises to bring the same level of genius that he brought to Fury Road, we are in no position to complain. Rest up, Mr. Miller; you’ve earned it.
