Mad Max: Fury Road, with a production budget of around $150 million its theatrical run finished at about $370 million worldwide, further to that it racked up roughly $60 million in home release sales across the US. The film received ten nominations at the Academy Awards, it won six of them, it also received wide critical acclaim and it currently boasts a critic rating of 97% on rotten tomatoes. So where are the sequels?
Since Fury Road’s release back in 2015, George Miller has referred to Fury Road sequels a number of times, even going so far as to mention titles and plot details. However it’s been three years and there’s still no sequel in production.
Well the reason being is that there’s a court battle between George Miller’s production company , and Warner Bros, with Miller’s company accusing the studio of withholding earnings which rightfully should have been paid. It has been recently reported that the Supreme Court of NSW ruled that the dispute should be heard in Australia rather than California, however with the wheels of justice turning as slowly as they do, it’s doubtful there will be an outcome in the near future.
It appears the dispute largely comes down to both parties view of the final cost of the film, and whether this entitles Miller’s company to profit bonuses for finishing the film under the agreed budget. Warner Bros. has taken a very different view of what the final cost was, ruling that they are not required to pay the bonus.
What all this boils down to for fans of the franchise is those two sequels that are reportedly written and sitting on George Miller’s computer somewhere, aren’t going to be going anywhere for the time being. Hopefully it’s not another 30 year gap between installments in the series…
