What If Mad Max: Fury Road Was Made In 2003 (And Why It’s Good It Wasn’t)

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Here's what would have happened if Mad Max: Fury Road had been filmed in the Namibian desert in 2003, and why it's good that it wasn't. It is a question rooted in the fact that this was what very nearly happened. Legendary director George Miller was within only a few weeks of shooting in 2003 when the funding for the movie was withdrawn by the studio. There can be little doubt that, if the fates had aligned, there would have been a large number of significant differences in comparison to the movie that audiences saw and experienced in 2015.

With six weeks left before filming, and with the star of the Mad Max movies, Mel Gibson attached to play the title character,  20th Century Fox pulled the plug on production. Financial concerns with the movie, combined with the fall in the value of the American dollar compared to the Australian dollar, made studio executives question the economic viability of such a large overseas production. This left Mad Max: Fury Road in the wilderness and it would take a further 12 years to reach the big screen. When it eventually arrived, though, the response was rapturous. This culminated in unexpected success at the 88th Academy Awards, where the care, love, and attention to detail, which had been fostered over nearly 20 years, were rewarded with Oscars in six categories.

Related: Mad Max: How Old Max Is In Every Movie

But it's fair to wonder just how different Mad Max: Fury Road would have been if production had gone ahead as planned in 2003. It would have been far different had Mel Gibson been the one to take Max Rockatansky behind the wheel of the ‘Black on Black’ Interceptor again. It's interesting to ponder what could have been gained but, equally importantly, what would have been lost