Mad Max: Fury Road sequel in doubt amid legal dispute

The sequel to ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ is in doubt because of a bitter legal dispute. Efforts to make a sequel to the 2015 sci-fi film have stalled due to a dispute between director George Miller and the movie studio Warner Bros. The film, which starred Academy Awardwinning actress Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy, was well received by critics and was a modest success at the box office. But plans to start shooting the sequel have been derailed by an argument over Miller’s bonus for the project, with the director claiming he’s entitled to an additional $7 million for keeping the film’s budget under $157 million. On the other hand, Warner Bros. is saying that the film did, in fact, go over its original budget and therefore, isn’t willing to pay the bonus. The film studio has tried to get the lawsuit moved out of Australia - where the movie was shot - but the Australian Supreme Court ruled late last year that the case needed to be heard Down Under. In the court filings, the studio has been accused of demanding that a series of scenes in the script not be shot and that additional scenes be included in the movie, but still be excluded from the net cost of the project. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. has alleged that that ‘Fury Road’ “significantly exceeded the approved budget”, with the additional costs largely being the responsibility of the production company. What’s more, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reports that Warner Bros. says it simply requested an alternative ending to the movie, rather than insisting upon it. A judgment is pending on the case and for the moment, plans to make the ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ sequel cannot progress any further.