Mel Gibson as Mad Max

George Miller is seriously considering producing a fourth Mad Max movie – but with a twist.  It won’t star Mel Gibson and it won’t be live-action – it will be animated.

From MTV Movies Blog:

“We’ll probably go a different route,” Miller told MTV News about the potential talent voicing the lead role. The plot would be partly lifted from the script of the fourth “Max” film, which was set to shoot in 2003 until financing collapsed in the wake of the Iraq War.

“I see myself as someone who is very curious about storytelling and all its various media,” Miller said. “I’ve always loved anime, in particular the Japanese sensibility. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

It’s a little hard to imagine a Mad Max film without Mel Gibson who is, after all, the iconic ‘Max’.   But then it’s almost impossible to imagine a Mad Max film with an aging Mel Gibson too (as soon as I wrote that, all I could think of was the latest Indiana Jones movie).   It’s also perhaps a little hard to get excited about Miller’s plans, especially when the freshest Mad Max film left in our collective memories is the god-awful Mad Max 3, which in itself must have played a big part in the end of the live-action franchise. Of the entire Mad Max line of movies, only Mad Max 2 stands out for me.

Of course none of that necessarily says Miller’s fresh approach couldn’t be successful.  Miller is a fan of Japanese anime and is keen to adapt the style for Western audiences which, if done well, and with Miller’s animation experience (aka Happy Feet), could prove to be a winner.

“The anime is an opportunity for me to shift a little bit about what anime is doing because anime is ripe for an adjustment or sea change,” he explained. “It’s coming in games and I believe it’s the same in anime. There’s going to be a hybrid anime where it shifts more towards Western sensibilities. [Japanese filmmaker Akira] Kurosawa was able to bridge that gap between the Japanese sensibilities and the West and make those definitive films.”

If the prospect of a Japanese anime-turned Western Mad Max has you excited, you might want to take a breath – we won’t be watching it any time soon.

“I’ve got a couple of years left,” said Miller. “We’re in the early stages writing and designing. A really good game you need two and half years. And for good anime you need two years.

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