The following is a list of unproduced George Miller projects in roughly chronological order. During a career that has spanned over 40 years, George Miller has worked on projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. A few of the projects were made after he had left production.
Following Mad Max , Miller was offered plenty of Hollywood jobs, but he turned most of them down because he wanted to develop a rock and roll movie, the working title of which was Roxanne. After working together on the novelization of Mad Max, Miller and Terry Hayes teamed up in Los Angeles to write Roxanne, but the script was ultimately shelved. [1] He would instead go on and direct Mad Max 2 .
In 1993, Miller was hired to direct Contact based on the story by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan. [2] Contact commenced pre-production. Miller cast Jodie Foster in the lead role, approached Ralph Fiennes to play Palmer Joss and also considered casting Linda Hunt as the President of the United States. In addition to having aliens put on a laser lighting display around Earth, another version of the Goldenberg scripts had an alien wormhole swallow up the planet, transporting Earth to the center of the galaxy. Miller also asked Goldenberg to rewrite Contact in an attempt to portray the Pope as a key supporting character. Warner Bros. was hoping to have the film ready for release by Christmas 1996, but under Miller's direction pre-production lasted longer than expected. [3] The studio fired the director, blaming pushed-back start dates, budget concerns, and Miller's insistence that the script needed five more weeks of rewriting after working on the film for over a year. Robert Zemeckis was eventually brought on to direct. [4]
In 2007, Miller signed on to direct a Justice League film titled Justice League: Mortal . [5] The following month roughly 40 actors and actresses were auditioning for the ensemble superhero roles, among them were Joseph Cross, Michael Angarano, Max Thieriot, Minka Kelly, Adrianne Palicki and Scott Porter. Miller intended to cast younger actors as he wanted them to "grow" into their roles over the course of several films. [6] D. J. Cotrona was cast as Superman, [7] along with Armie Hammer as Batman. [8] Jessica Biel reportedly declined the Wonder Woman role after being in negotiations. [9] The character was also linked to actresses Teresa Palmer and Shannyn Sossamon, along with Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who confirmed that she had auditioned. [10] Ultimately Megan Gale was cast as Wonder Woman, [11] while Palmer was cast as Talia al Ghul, whom Miller had in mind to act with a Russian accent. [12] The script for Justice League: Mortal would have featured the John Stewart character as the Green Lantern, a role originally offered to Columbus Short. [13] Hip hop recording artist and rapper Common was cast, [14] with Adam Brody as The Flash / Barry Allen, [15] and Jay Baruchel as the lead villain, Maxwell Lord. [16] Longtime Miller collaborator Hugh Keays-Byrne had been cast in an unnamed role, rumored to be Martian Manhunter. Aquaman had yet to be cast. Marit Allen was hired as the original costume designer before her untimely death in November 2007, [17] and the responsibilities were assumed by Weta Workshop. [18] While production was initially held up due to the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, [19] further production delays and the success of The Dark Knight led to Warner Bros. deciding to put the film on hold and pursue different options. [20]
On October 17, 2008, Miller was planning on directing an adaptation of the Odyssey , set in space with Brad Pitt producing the movie for Warner Bros. [21] On January 14, 2013, Warner Bros. revived the project, with a new script by James DiLapo, without Miller and Pitt's involvements. [22] Since then, there have been no further announcements.
On November 29, 2011, Doug Mitchell revealed that Miller was attached to Fur Brigade, an animated bear movie. Since then, there have been no further announcements. [23] [24]
In a November 2011 interview, Miller was asked if he had any plans for Happy Feet 3. He replied by saying: "if you put a gun to my head and said, You have to come up with a story for Happy Feet 3, I'd say shoot me. I would have no idea. I really would have no idea. The stories creep up on you. You just have to allow the stories to come, and then they get in like little ear worms in your head and they won't go away. If that happens and we've got the energy, we'll do a third one. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. That's the only way you can do it. It has to be authentic. I really wanted to make this film better than the first one. Otherwise, at my age, what's the point? You really want to make it better. If something comes up that's really exciting and I can convey that enthusiasm to other people, then there would be a third one." [25]
In 2011, Miller and McCarthy found during the writing process for Mad Max: Fury Road that they had enough story material for two additional scripts. One of these, entitled Mad Max: Furiosa , had already been completed, and Miller hoped to film it after the release of Fury Road. [26] In March 2015, during an interview with Esquire , Hardy revealed that he was attached to star in three more Mad Max films following Fury Road. [27] In May 2015, Miller told Wired : "Should Fury Road be successful, I've got two other stories to tell." [28] Later in May, Miller revealed that plans for the sequel had changed and the fifth film in the franchise will instead be titled Mad Max: The Wasteland . [29] [30] In October 2015, Miller's team had two scripts for sequels which they ended up with during the writing process. [31] Later that month, he clarified that Mad Max: The Wasteland was a working title for the sequel. [32] [33] Miller reaffirmed his intent to continue the franchise after reports to the contrary surfaced following an interview in January 2016. [34] In November 2017, it was reported that a lawsuit filed by Miller's production company against Warner Bros. over a disputed $7 million bonus was likely to delay the production of any sequels. [35] [36] In July 2019, Miller told IndieWire : "There are two stories, both involving Mad Max, and also a Furiosa story. We're still solving, we've got to play out the Warners thing, it seems to be pretty clear that it's going to happen." [37] Production of the sequels and spinoffs were delayed until after the lawsuit was settled. In October 2020, a prequel titled Furiosa entered "advanced development" at Warner Bros., with Miller set to direct. Anya Taylor-Joy has been cast to portray a young Furiosa, while Chris Hemsworth and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will also star. Miller will co-write the screenplay with Nico Lathouris, while Miller and Doug Mitchell will produce through their Kennedy Miller Mitchell banner. [38]
In 2015, Miller was planning on directing Akira , the live-action remake of the film of the same name, but he left due to scheduling conflicts with Mad Max: Fury Road. [39]
On January 30, 2017, Miller was on the list to replace Ben Affleck as director of The Batman possibly with Affleck starring, but Matt Reeves got the job and made The Batman . [40]
George Miller is an Australian filmmaker, best known for his Mad Max franchise, whose second installment, Mad Max 2, and fourth, Fury Road, have been hailed two of the greatest action films of all time, Fury Road winning six Academy Awards. Miller is very diverse in genre and style as he also directed the biographical medical drama Lorenzo's Oil, the dark fantasy The Witches of Eastwick, and the Academy Award-winning animated film Happy Feet, produced the family-friendly fantasy adventure Babe and directed the sequel Babe: Pig in the City.
Mad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and produced by Byron Kennedy. Mel Gibson stars as "Mad" Max Rockatansky, a police officer turned vigilante in a near-future Australia in the midst of societal collapse. Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley, Tim Burns and Roger Ward also appear in supporting roles. James McCausland and Miller wrote the script from a story by Miller and Kennedy.
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Since their first appearance in The Brave and the Bold #28, various incarnations of the team have appeared in film, television, and video game adaptations.
The Batman franchise, based on the fictional superhero Batman who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, has seen the release of various films. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, the character first starred in two serial films in the 1940s: Batman and Batman and Robin. The character also appeared in the 1966 film Batman, which was a feature film adaptation of the 1960s Batman TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward, who also starred in the film. Toward the end of the 1980s, the Warner Bros. studio began producing a series of feature films starring Batman, beginning with the 1989 film Batman, directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton. Burton and Keaton returned for the 1992 sequel Batman Returns, and in 1995, Joel Schumacher directed Batman Forever with Val Kilmer as Batman. Schumacher also directed the 1997 sequel Batman & Robin, which starred George Clooney. Batman & Robin was poorly received by both critics and fans, leading to the cancellation of Batman Unchained.
DC Comics's Superman franchise, based on the character of the same name created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in June 1938, has seen the release of various films since its inception. The character debuted in cinemas in a series of animated shorts beginning in 1941, and then was the protagonist of two movie serials in 1948 and 1950. An independent studio, Lippert Pictures, released the first Superman feature film, Superman and the Mole Men, starring George Reeves, in 1951. In 1973, the film rights to the Superman character were purchased by Ilya Salkind, Alexander Salkind, and Pierre Spengler. After numerous scripts and several years in development, Richard Donner was hired as their director, and he shot two films, Superman (1978), and Superman II (1980), at the same time, both starring Christopher Reeve. Donner had already shot eighty percent of Superman II before it was decided to finish shooting the first film. The Salkinds fired Donner after Superman's release and commissioned Richard Lester as the director to finish Superman II. Lester returned to direct Superman III (1983). The Salkinds also produced the related spin-off Supergirl (1984). They then sold the rights to Cannon Films, which produced the poorly reviewed Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). Ilya Salkind commissioned a fifth Superman script before Warner Bros. acquired the rights entirely in 1993.
Mad Max is an Australian post-apocalyptic and dystopian action film series and media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It began in 1979 with Mad Max, and was followed by three sequels: Mad Max 2, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015); Miller directed or co-directed all four films. Mel Gibson portrayed the titular character Max Rockatansky in the first three films, while Tom Hardy portrayed the character in Mad Max: Fury Road.
Kennedy Miller Mitchell is an Australian film, television and video game production house in Potts Point, Sydney, that has been producing television and film since 1978. It is responsible for some of Australia's best-known and most successful films, including the four Mad Max films, the two Babe films, and the two Happy Feet films.
Mad Max: Fury Road is a 2015 Australian post-apocalyptic action film co-written, co-produced, and directed by George Miller. Miller collaborated with Brendan McCarthy and Nico Lathouris on the screenplay. The fourth instalment in the Mad Max franchise, it was produced by Village Roadshow Pictures, Kennedy Miller Mitchell, and RatPac-Dune Entertainment and distributed by Roadshow Entertainment in Australia and by Warner Bros. Pictures internationally. The film stars Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, with Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Zoë Kravitz, Abbey Lee, and Courtney Eaton in supporting roles. Set in a post-apocalyptic desert wasteland where petrol and water are scarce commodities, Fury Road follows Max Rockatansky (Hardy), who joins forces with Imperator Furiosa (Theron) against cult leader Immortan Joe (Keays-Byrne) and his army, leading to a lengthy road battle.
Mad Max is an action-adventure video game based on the Mad Max franchise. Developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, it was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in 2015. Feral Interactive published the game's Linux and macOS versions. In the game, players control Max Rockatansky as he progresses through the wasteland building a vehicle, the "Magnum Opus", to do battle with a gang of raiders, led by Scabrous Scrotus, and to reach the storied "Plains of Silence", where he hopes to find peace. Mad Max emphasizes vehicular combat, in which players can use weapon and armor upgrades on their car to fight enemies. It is set in an open post-apocalyptic wasteland consisting of deserts, canyons, and caves.
The Flash is a 2023 American superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, Double Dream, and the Disco Factory, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the 13th installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film was directed by Andy Muschietti from a screenplay by Christina Hodson and a story by Joby Harold and the writing team of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. It stars Ezra Miller as Barry Allen / The Flash alongside Sasha Calle in her film debut, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdú, Kiersey Clemons, Antje Traue, and Michael Keaton. In the film, Barry travels back in time to prevent his mother's death, which unintentionally results in his being stranded in an alternate past.
Justice League is a 2017 American superhero film based on the DC Comics superhero team of the same name. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Films, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Atlas Entertainment, and Cruel and Unusual Films and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the fifth installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Directed by Zack Snyder and written by Chris Terrio and Joss Whedon, the film features an ensemble cast including Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, and J. K. Simmons. In the film, following the events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) Batman and Wonder Woman recruit The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg after the death of Superman to save the world from the catastrophic threat of Steppenwolf and his army of Parademons.
Mad Max: Fury Road is a soundtrack album for the 2015 film, Mad Max: Fury Road, composed by Tom Holkenborg a.k.a. Junkie XL. It was released on 12 May 2015 through WaterTower Music.
The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by DC Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that appear in American comic books published by DC Comics. The DCEU also includes comic books, short films, novels, and video games. Like the original DC Universe in comic books, the DCEU is established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters.
Imperator Furiosa is a fictional character in the Mad Max franchise. Introduced in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and portrayed by Charlize Theron, she serves as an officer in Immortan Joe's army but turns against him in order to free "The Five Wives", Joe's female sex slaves. During her journey, she meets Max Rockatansky. Despite initial hostility, the two become allies and team up to drive The Five Wives to a safe environment called the "Green Place." The character will return in the prequel film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024), where she will be portrayed by Anya Taylor-Joy.
Mad Max: Fury Road is a limited comic book series created by George Miller, Nico Lathouris and Mark Sexton. Serving as a prequel to the 2015 film of the same name, in addition to bridging the events of the film with Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, the series focuses on several characters from the film at various points in their lives before it.
Christopher McKay, is an American filmmaker and animator. He is best known for directing and editing three seasons of Robot Chicken and two seasons of Moral Orel. He made his feature directorial debut with The Lego Batman Movie (2017), and has also directed The Tomorrow War (2021) and Renfield (2023).
Colin Gibson is an Australian production designer. He is known for his collaborations with George Miller, including Babe, Babe 2: Pig in the City, Happy Feet, Happy Feet Two, and Mad Max: Fury Road, the latter of which resulted in winning the Academy Award for Best Production Design and an AACTA Award. Gibson's other work includes The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, for which he shared a BAFTA award nomination with Owen Paterson.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is an upcoming post-apocalyptic action adventure film co-produced and directed by George Miller, who co-wrote it with Nico Lathouris. It is the fifth installment in the Mad Max franchise, serving as both a spin-off and prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). The film stars Anya Taylor-Joy as the titular character Imperator Furiosa, with Chris Hemsworth also starring.
