Sounds Like Those MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Sequels Are Gonna Arrive Even Later Than Expected

Ever since George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road arrived, people have wondered when we might see a follow-up. Miller himself has stoked that speculation on more than one occasion, revealing that he's got enough material for two sequels, the proposed title for one of them (Mad Max: The Wasteland), and even offering up information on who would and wouldn't be returning.

Given how much information is available about these would-be sequels - and given how well Fury Road did with critics and at the box office - one would think these projects would be a priority for Warner Bros. And yet, it's been two years since Fury Road landed in theaters, and we don't seem to be any closer to either sequel being a reality. It's baffling.

Well, it has been baffling. This weekend, we may have learned what the hold-up is: according to the Sydney Morning Herald, Miller's production company (Kennedy Miller Marshall) is in the process of suing Warner Bros. for what they claim is $7M in unpaid Fury Road bonuses. 

The Playlist has a pretty succinct rundown of the suit:

"According to Kennedy Miller Mitchell, if the the final net cost of Fury Road didn’t exceed $157 million, they would receive a $7 million bonus. Even more, if Warner Bros. decided to co-finance the picture, Kennedy Miller Mitchell would be given the first opportunity to participate. However, Kennedy Miller Mitchell claims that Warner Bros. made decisions that caused Fury Road to go over budget, and even more, entered a co-financing deal with Brett Ratner’s RatPac Entertainmentwithout reaching out to Miller’s company first."

Warner Bros. disagrees with Kennedy Miller Marshall's position and plans to defend itself from their claims in court, but let's be real: you don't care about the he-said/she-said of all this. All you care about (and rightfully so) is when George Miller might get back to work on another Mad Max movie.

Bottom line is that it's gonna be a while, as the case will need to be settled (one way or another) before anyone's even gonna think about starting production on a sequel, much less two sequels. Let's hope that however things turn out, Miller and Warner Bros. are able to work together again amicably. If things go too sideways, we might not get any Fury Road sequels, period.

Stay tuned for more on this situation as it develops.

Note: Header artwork by the great Ken Taylor, for Mondo.