'Mad Max: Fury Road' Movie Cast, Release Date, Review, and Trailers

Apr 27, 2015 02:54 PM EDT

It has been a long time since post-apocalyptic antihero Mad Max has been seen in theaters.  The last iteration was back in 1985, but Mad Max: Fury Road, will have its release date in May, and here is what we know of its cast, review, and trailers.

One thing that ought to please lovers of the original Mad Max trilogy is that George Miller is the director of the film, as well as a producer.  The original film series starred a young actor as Max who made a name for himself: Mel Gibson. Tom Hardy is now playing Mad Max Rockatnaksy, and Charlize Theron will be playing the role of Furiosa. 

Charlize admitted to Latinos Post that she was very excited to play the role of a female partner for Max.  Also along for the ride are other accomplished actors like Nicholas Hoult as Nux, Nathan Jones as Rictus Erectus, Zoe Kravitz as Toast, Riley Keough as Capable, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as Splendid, and Immortan Joe will be played by Hugh Keays-Byrne, who is most famous for playing The Toecutter from the original Mad Max film.  Will Mel Gibson be making a cameo?  It isn't listed on Gibson's imdb page, but honestly, how could George Miller resist?

The big question is what will be the plot of this film?  Judging by the film's synopsis on its Facebook page, Max is "haunted by his turbulent past", and wanders alone in the desert.  He then gets swept up with a group fleeing across the Wasteland in a "War Rig" driven by "an elite Imperator" named Furiosa. 

From what it sounds like, the action will be the chase scenes on cool metal vehicles that established the original trilogy as essential post-apocalyptic film.  The original Mad Max film was released in 1979, and although it did not take place in a world after the bombs had fallen, it showed a world where oil and energy resources were scarce and savagery had nearly taken over.  By the time its sequel, The Road Warrior, was released in 1981, the bombs had fallen, and Max roamed the completely savage wasteland like a post-apocalyptic cowboy, taking the role of a drifter who saves a town from a gang of ravagers.  The film's last iteration back in 1985, Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, put Max in a situation where he saved many children from an evil town. 

At the end of all three films, Max is always left wandering in the wasteland, presumably on some other adventure.  LA Times recently asked George Miller what the fourth movie is, a sequel, prequel, reboot, or re-imagining of the established seventies and eighties franchise.  His response was "a revisit" and "can we invent a new term"? 

Expect to see Mad Max: Fury Road in theaters on May 15th, and prepared to be blown away.  There is a trailer out now if you want to give yourself a taste.