With all the rubbish sequels that are being made these days in cinema, a "Fury Road" sequel is one of the few that would make actual, concrete sense to greenlight. George Miller was apparently in pre-production on "Mad Max: the Wasteland" and even had Tom Hardy signed up to do two more films. That is until Miller sued his studio Warner Bros. for not paying him a bonus that was contractually obligated by contract.
"Details have emerged (via Sydney Morning Herald) that Miller's studio Kennedy Miller Mitchell is suing the WB over what they claim is an unpaid bonus. According to Justice David Hammerschlag, the $7m bonus itself was dependent on the production coming in under $157m – after certain costs were excluded – with Miller and co believing they are owed that money due to unforeseen circumstances during production."
"While Warner Bros. are claiming that the production went over budget, thus making them ineligible for the bonus, Miller's company argue that the studio made "a series of decisions which caused changes and delays to the production".
"On top of that, it is reported that the deal included a clause that said Kennedy Miller Mitchell would be given the chance to finance the project should Warner Bros. seek a deal with a new co-financier."
"According to Justice David Hammerschlag, the $7m bonus itself was dependent on the production coming in under $157m – after certain costs were excluded – with Miller and co believing they are owed that money due to unforeseen circumstances during production."
"While Warner Bros. are claiming that the production went over budget, thus making them ineligible for the bonus, Miller's company argue that the studio made "a series of decisions which caused changes and delays to the production"."
"On top of that, it is reported that the deal included a clause that said Kennedy Miller Mitchell would be given the chance to finance the project should Warner Bros. seek a deal with a new co-financier."
To be fair, Y'all - Miller owns the rights to the Mad Max characters. They're his. So, while we might not see any more films, we also won't see any blatant cash grabs banking on the franchise name alone because Miller lost out. Miller's got two scripts ready to go. Fury Road was a massive hit. Warner Brothers are literally sitting on a blockbuster franchise and they won't make it because they're bickering over 7-10 million. At the other end of the argument you could say Warner Brothers has plenty of franchises, Miller has Mad Max and both he and his cast will be aging irreversibly as those sequels are delayed on and on again as this lawsuit continues. Warner also has to watch out not to set a bad precedent where their producers and directors can sue them quickly into submission every time a contract dispute emerges. So it makes plenty of sense. Both sides have plenty to win if the sequels are made, but plenty to lose if they concede the lawsuit. So the game of chicken is on.
