‘Mad Max: The Wasteland’: Tom Hardy Doesn’t Think Sequel Will Happen!!

The sequel to one of the most beloved sci-fi films of the last 20 years just got a disappointing update from one of its stars. During a recent interview with Forbes, Mad Max actor Tom Hardy sat down to promote his new film with Austin Butler and Jodie Comer, The Bikeriders, and also was asked about George Miller‘s dystopian wasteland franchise. Hardy plays the lead role in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) opposite a stacked ensemble of Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, and Riley Keough, and the film received universal acclaim from critics and audiences, scoring a near-flawless 97% rating from reviewers and an 86% score from fans on Rotten Tomatoes. When asked about the long-awaited follow-up, rumored to be titled Mad Max: The Wasteland, Hardy simply said, “I don’t think that’s happening.”

There could be plenty of reasons why a Mad Max sequel hasn’t been greenlit yet, not least of which are the very public on-set woes between Hardy and Theron when filming the project. It could also be because Miller, the mastermind behind the Mad Max franchise, has yet to nail down an idea he thinks is worth pursuing. Miller has directed every Mad Max film dating back to 1979, and he may not be interested in passing that torch on to another filmmaker. However, there’s another, less-pretty reason why a potential Mad Max sequel may be dead in the water.

Did the ‘Furiosa’ Flop Crush All Hopes of a ‘Mad Max’ Sequel?

It’s impossible to rule out the possibility that Furiosa‘s poor box office performance has led executives at Warner Bros. Discovery to close the door on any potential Mad Max projects for the time being. The prequel film starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth has currently grossed a meager $63 million domestically paired with $97 million worldwide for a dwindling total of roughly $160 million. There are a lot of movies that would be thrilled to bring in $160 million at the box office, but for a movie like Furiosa with a production budget of $168 million, this number isn’t going to cut it. In an alternate world where Furiosa was the colossal box office success that Warner Bros. was certainly expecting it to be, it’s possible the Mad Max sequel update from Hardy was one of a much more positive outlook.