It cannot be denied that audiences were blown away when Mad Max returned to theaters last summer after a 30-year absence. Sure, it wasn't exactly a reboot, but it was what director George Miller called a "revisiting". Even though the film was essentially one giant chase scene with very little backstory, audience were entranced in a new world of Tom Hardy as Mad Max, and felt that Charlize Theron as Furiosa worked as well. So with a hit like that, surely there will be a sequel? Actually, that might not be the case, but this is what we know of a possible Mad Max 5: The Wasteland release date and news.
Most will say the issue of a sequel to Mad Max: Fury Road is not "if", but it is clearly "when". The film has made a lot of money, and it received praise from critics and audiences alike. Even on imdb.com, there is already a site set up for Mad Max: The Wasteland, with the director being George Miller, who did all the other Mad Max films. Of course, there isn't much written there, other than it is a sequel to Fury Road.
Cineblend reported that when George Miller was interviewed at Comic-Con 2014, the director had already written two new Mad Max scripts. The other was for Mad Max: Furiosa, which would have set up more information about Imperator Furiosa. Charlize Theron's character wasn't given much backstory in Fury Road, but hopefully this film would explain a few things like how she lost her arm and why she isn't in Immortan Joe's harem. Apparently, George Miller's plan was to shoot both Fury Road and Furiosa together, but eventually he had to settle for just Fury Road. He hoped that Fury Road would be enough of a hit to justify a sequel, and perhaps this Wasteland placeholder that appears on imdb is that sequel, as it does have both Max and Furiosa on as cast members.
According to Forbes, there is some doubt that a sequel is in the ordering. A return IMAX engagement on Friday through Sunday last September made so little that Warner Brothers/Time Warner and IMAX did not report the numbers. The film has recently been released to video, and climbed to the top of the sales charts.
The film apparently made "good, but not great" numbers as it earned $374 million worldwide, having been made on a budget of $155 million. Not only that, the market for sequels becoming bigger breakouts than the originals is actually pretty rare today, and it might be better to have a smaller budget for a Mad Max sequel. However, what made Mad Max: Fury Road so great was that most of its budget went to 90 percent practical effects rather than CG effects that can be done cheaper.
It is possible that a Mad Max 5 will be made simply because fans will demand it so much, and Warner Brothers will have to make one when they need another hit. Now that the studio doesn't have franchises like The Hobbit or Harry Potter anymore, they might need some audience. This is assuming that their DC Cinematic Universe won't take off.
