There's been talk of at least one Mad Max: Fury Road sequel coming after the Furiosa prequel, but what do we really know about Max Rockatansky's return?

This conversation has been happening on-and-off ever since George Miller's 2015 masterpiece was released, and there's some conflicting information floating around, so we're looking at the facts and everything those involved have 100% confirmed. But as always, plans change, and with Furiosa taking nearly a decade to put together following a pandemic and the court battle between Miller's company and Warner Brothers, it might be another while before we see Tom Hardy return to the desert wastelands of the Mad Max universe.

The Hollywood Reporter's report on the recent Furiosa trailer mentions "two additional Fury Road sequels that include Mad Max" near the end of the article, but is Miller really making two more of these? If we dig up old conversations around the long-in-the-works projects, the writer-director did mention to Digital Spy the existence of two more post-Fury Road stories, with 'The Wasteland' (which might not be the final title) being the first of them. He also mentioned there's "an interaction" between Max and Furiosa in one of the two projects, and that could either mean a brief Max cameo in the Furiosa prequel that's around the corner or a second future story.

Fury Road star Tom Hardy also stoked the fire in 2017 during a chat with Collider, when he was asked about the status of 'The Wasteland' and maybe even a third movie: "Yeah, as far as I’ve signed to do three of them. It’s a question of when. I’m not sure it’s called The Wasteland or not ‘cause you never know. These titles change all the time. But, there’s definitely another Mad Max project pending." A lead actor being signed on to do at least three movie in a series is a common occurrence, as studios always want to secure the main stars for at least a handful of projects just in case. That doesn't necessarily mean we'll be seeing Max Rockatansky two more times on the big screen, but one more sequel certainly was in everyone's mind.

Back to Miller, when asked by Variety in 2022 during promotion of Three Thousand Years of Longing, he once again didn't offer a definitive answer regarding the Fury Road follow-up, admitting it was still evolving. However, notice how there was zero talk of a second sequel. Given how distant actual mentions of a second follow-up are now, maybe that project is either frozen or simply was the Furiosa prequel all along.

So there you have it: Furiosa is the only Mad Max project we're getting for sure in the near future, and it seems reasonable to expect 'The Wasteland' (or whatever it ends up being called) to happen not too far into the future, but a second follow-up with Tom Hardy's iteration of the Road Warrior feels like too much of a stretch right now.

As the year wind downs, it's time to look back and all you've read and watched. Popverse has picked the best movies, best comics, and best TV shows of the year.

But who really cares about what we think? This year, we had you vote for your best movies, best comics, and best TV shows of the year too. Check the lists and mix and see if you agree with our (and your) top choices of the year!