TomHardy

For better or worse, George Miller's fourth installment of the Mad Max series -- tentatively titled Mad Max: Fury Road -- is moving forward sans Mel Gibson in the titular role. Previous reports had confirmed UK-import Tom Hardy was in talks for the lead, but in an interview with the MTV Movies Blog, Hardy makes it clear that his involvement is not yet set in stone. Instead, he uses these carefully chosen words: the role of Max Rockatansky is "strongly coming in [his] direction."

While all signs do point to Hardy for Max, it's a bit surprising to hear just how little Miller and Hardy have actually discussed the role thus far. Hardy mentions that he has read the script and has started preparing, and it's heartening to hear him verbalize the desire to take Max in a different direction. Whether this is just a matter of Hardy trying to be as PR-correct as possible (probably) or if there really is some chance Hardy will not end up in the film, the brief interview serves as a excellent opportunity to probe the question: Is Hardy right for the role? And furthermore, should anyone be resurrecting Max at this point?

After seeing Hardy tear up the screen in Bronson, I have to believe the guy deserves a shot at anything. So in that sense, Miller's (likely) casting choice doesn't seem so odd. More than casting though, this one will come down to script and story. Because (and I feel like I'm not alone here) Miller has a bit of an uphill battle to prove why we need to see beyond Beyond Thunderdome.

Let this be my public apology to Tom Hardy, an actor I'd completely dismissed due to his pouty-lipped performance as Picard's villainous clone in Star Trek: Nemesis. I expect evil clones to at least act somewhat like their heroic counterparts, but Hardy didn't even come close to resembling Jean-Luc Picard at any point in that picture. These lowered expectations led me to get knocked flat on my butt by Hardy's amazing, fearless performance in this year's Bronson, in which he disappears completely into the role of England's most notorious career prisoner. Hardy is unhinged in that film, turning from shockingly funny to downright scary on a dime, as the scenes demand it.

It's that presence that Hardy brings to Bronson that makes me excited that he's being considered for the role of Max in director George Miller's new Mad Max relaunch (announced originally as Fury Road). E! Online reports that sources close to Miller confirm that he's got his eye on Tom Hardy to replace Mel Gibson as the lead, and I'm hard-pressed to think of a more inspired choice. Oscar-winning glamourpuss Charlize Theron is also being considered as the female lead role in the film.

It's a step in the right direction for this long-gestating project. Miller is keeping the story details under wraps, and there's still no word on when cameras will ever start rolling on this thing. The original 1979 film introduces Max Rockatansky, a drfiter in a post-apocalyptic world, who continually runs afoul of roving gangs of murderous scavengers, causing large-scale vehicular mayhem in the process. The hugely influential film was followed by two sequels, 1981's The Road Warrior (aka Mad Max 2) and 1985's Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and spawned countless imitators.