Macbeth and The Order director Justin Kurzel wants to make a pre-apocalypse Mad Max prequel, and even hopes to pitch it to George Miller.
Update: Director Justin Kurzel has since offered a clarification on the story that he wants to pitch a Mad Max prequel. You can find his comments in our more recent new story (and podcast episode!).
Our original post from early December 2024 follows.
George Miller’s Mad Max (1979)presented a such bold take on a post-apocalyptic dystopia, presenting many of our fears about the breakdown of civilisation with such absorbing style, it formed a template that was developed in every film afterwards. While this year’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga may not have set the world alight commercially, that hasn’t stopped Australian filmmaker Justin Kurzel from wanting to add his own take to Miller’s Wasteland saga.
Speaking to Collider, Kurzel – director of, among other things, Snowtown, Macbeth, Assassin’s Creed and this year’s The Order – outlined his vision for a prequel film that would establish how the world we recognise fell into ruin… and what’s more, he’s keen to pitch his take it to Miller himself.
“I’ve always been curious about what happened before the first Mad Max – what was that world with the Nightrider, pre-Mad Max? I’ve always been very curious about that and very tempted to talk to George about the possibility of a world that is pre-Mad Max 1 and what that is. That’s been one that I’ve always been really curious about because it was such an influential film in my time. It’s an amazing franchise, but I’ve always been curious about those moments before that first one because it’s set up so richly. And it’s such a great time in Australia, too, that period.”
Read more: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga review | An odyssey of blood and oil
Given that Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga just about made its production budget back on its release earlier this year, we can’t imagine that Warner Bros will be too quick to stick its hand back in its pocket quite so soon. That goes double for another Mad Max film that doesn’t feature the title character. Still, as both an Australian filmmaker and as a director with an eye for gritty visuals and frenetic action, Kurzel could be adept at re-capturing the mayhem that Mad Max introduced 45 years ago.
Will he get his chance? Probably not, but if Miller does ever decide to abandon any future plans he has for the series (such as The Wasteland), perhaps handing it to another Australian filmmaker would be a logical step.
