The Tom Hardy-starring reboot still has no release in sight



“Mad Max: Fury Road,” the fourth film in the post-apocalyptic Mad Max series, still has a long road to release, as three weeks of additional filming in Sydney have been scheduled.

The film is directed by George Miller, who helmed the previous three Mad Max films. It previously underwent principal photography in Namibia for nearly six months last year, all after 18 months of delays and pre-production problems.

By the time it finished shooting, “Fury Road” was reportedly over budget, to the point where Warner Bros. decided to send an executive to the shooting location to get filming back on track.

This scheduling of further re-shoots suggests that the film is still plagued by production issues. This will no doubt delay the release of the movie.

Although originally said to be a conventional sequel, “Fury Road” is expected to act as a reboot for the Mad Max franchise, with Tom Hardy (“Bronson,” “Warrior,” “The Dark Knight Rises”) taking over from Mel Gibson as the title lead, Max Rockatansky. Gibson will reportedly appear in a cameo role, however.

The film also stars Charlize Theron (“Prometheus,” “Snow White and the Huntsman”), Nicholas Hoult (“Warm Bodies”), Zoë Kravitz (“X-Men: First Class”), Hugh Keays-Byrne (“Farscape”), Nathan Jones (“Conan the Barbarian”) and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”).

The first film in the franchise, “Mad Max,” was released in 1979, and the sequel, “Mad Max 2” (called “The Road Warrior” in the United States), came out in 1981. Then, in 1985, “Max Max Beyond Thunderdome” was released. The Mad Max series was instrumental in launching Mel Gibson’s career, but the fourth film was in development hell for a long time.

“Mad Max: Fury Road” is still on track for a release sometime in 2014, although no specific date has been set.