Mad Max: Fury Road sequels held up by ongoing court case

Director George Miller claims he is owed money by Warner Bros.

Mad Max: Fury Road - Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron

Despite being a sequel based on an already successful series, George Miller found Mad Max: Fury Road hugely difficult to make. The director initially conceived the idea for a fourth Mad Max film in 1998, the movie entering development hell and only reaching cinemas in 2015.

After scoring big at the box office and winning six Oscars (along with being nominated for best picture and best director), fans expected there would not be such a large wait for any future sequels, especially because Miller had already told press a script for Mad Max: Furiosa had been completed – the title changing to Mad Max: The Wasteland.

Unfortunately, we may have to wait a few years for the sequel after all as Miller is engaged in a “bitter” court battle with Warner Bros. that threatens the franchise’s future.

Miller’s production company Kennedy Miller Mitchell claims in a document that the Hollywood studio acted in a “high-handed, insulting or reprehensible” manner, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

In short, Miller’s company was apparently promised a large bonus, $7 million, if Fury Road was completed under the agreed $157 million budget. Miller claims the movie was finished for $154.6 million, while Warner Bros. say Fury Road cost $185.1 million.

The lawsuit further says that Warner Bros. required extended reshoots after Miller handed them a rough cut, the studio approving $31 million worth of reshoots that would be excluded from the movie’s costs.

Conversely, Warner Bros. say they “requested” an alternative ending rather than demanding it, and that Kennedy Miller Mitchell agreed to help fund the reshoots. The studio also say that Miller’s company made changes while filming that led to a delayed production.

The case continues in Australia. Meanwhile, Miller recently spoke about potential sequels for Mad Max, saying: “They're there but that's all I can say. That's in the future.”