Whatever you think of Mel Gibson, you can’t deny this: when the man was in his prime, he was one of the most badass heroes cinema has ever seen. And no hero of his is as flat-out cool than Mad Max. (Sorry, Martin Riggs, but you’re a little too nutso.) I’m still of the belief that Gibson could pull off a Mad Max movie at his age (lord knows he’s intense enough), but of course we’re getting a reboot with Tom Hardy instead. Not that there’s anything wrong with Hardy; dude has had his share of badass screen appearances already.
Do you wonder what Gibson’s thoughts on Hardy taking on the leather-clad role are? Care to know if he wanted to do a MAD MAX 4? If so, you’ll get a slight glimpse inside the mad mind of the original Max in this snippet from ComingSoon.net’s interview with the man.
Q:How much did George Miller try and persuade you to do a “Mad Max 4”?
Gibson: We talked about this very project like 10 years ago. I actually wanted to do it, but then what happened was, the budget was nuts. It was crazy. I certainly hope they’ve become more realistic about it.
Q: Is it true that Tom Hardy asked for your approval?
Gibson: No, they cast him, but I sat down with the guy and I quite like him. I think he’s a good choice for that.
Q: Will you see the film?
Gibson: Oh yeah, I’ll have a look. It’ll be fun. I think he’s a good actor. He commits completely and he looks great. There’s this scary thing about him which is kind of right for that. Tom needed to sit down and talk more than I did. I’m really happy about that. But I hope they do a great job. I’m a big fan of George’s.
If you want to take a look at the entire, fascinating interview, head on over to ComingSoon (there’s also some MACHETE KILLS talk in there). MAD MAX: FURY ROAD is currently shooting in South Africa; it will hit in 2013.