Mad Max: Fury Road could be one of the longest anticipated sequels of all time. Having spent approximately twenty-five years in development, Mad Max fans are finally being treated to what director George Miller is now referring to as a ‘renaissance’ of the franchise. With Tom Hardy to replace Mel Gibson as Max himself, the fourth Mad Max will have a youthful, invigorated feel whilst retaining all the anarchic thrill of its predecessors.

Many will be familiar with Miller’s famous franchise, which transformed the landscape of Hollywood action movies in the late 70s and early 80s. For those that aren’t, Mad Max is a dystopian vision of the future where humans live in a lawless, war torn desert. As the world runs out of fuel, those who hold the last remaining dregs of oil hold the power. Cue high-speed car chases, stunning crashes and a lead character with plenty of attitude and very few words.

After the third movie was released in 1985, obsessive fans began to speculate on the possibility of a fourth but Miller continued to come across endless obstacles – one being the outbreak of the Iraq war, which meant an action movie depicting humanity scrapping over oil might be deemed politically insensitive. Not the kind of attention needed for a film in which, by Miller’s own admittance, the visuals are prioritized above the story.

And it seems the visuals are likely to live up to their hype, with Empire magazine voting Mad Max: Fury Road as the trailer to watch of 2015. Tom Hardy (Inception, Warrior) is perfectly cast as the gruff, hard-man Max, whilst Nicholas Hoult (Skins, X-Men) and Charlize Theron (Monster, Young Adult) are exciting choices to take on what seem to be unsettlingly warped villains.

Due for release on 8 May, Miller and visual animator Brendan McCarthy will be hoping the latest in the Mad Max saga can dominate the summer box office in the same way they did over thirty years ago.

Mad Max outdoors:

Mad Max: Fury Road is being screened in London parks this summer as part of Luna Cinema's open-air film programme - book your tickets now!