Mad Max: Fury Road Almost Had A Wildly Different Cast

Long-overdue sequels and reboots are nothing new in the Hollywood landscape. In fact, they've become a bit of the norm. Still, it's safe to say no one was expecting a sequel to the "Mad Max" franchise, namely "Fury Road," to positively blow every audience member and critic away. But that's precisely what it did when it came out in 2015 and became a cultural behemoth that continues to be discussed and dissected to this day.

The legacy of "Fury Road" is secure, as it continues appearing on numerous publications' "Best Action Movies of All Time" lists. It's even getting a follow-up in the form of "Furiosa," which is set to have Anya Taylor-Joy in the lead role as a young version of the titular character, originally played by Charlize Theron. It may be a while until we see that prequel come to fruition, so in the meantime, "Fury Road" fans can look forward to the release of a behind-the-scenes book titled "Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road," which undoubtedly will provide all kinds of exciting tidbits of the making of the iconic film. We already know one piece of fun trivia, courtesy of a post by the book's author Kyle Buchanan.

"Fury Road" had a long, arduous journey to the big screen. The behind-the-scenes drama has been well-documented over the years (and will likely only become more complete upon the release of Buchanan's book), but we've already known how production for the film got its start in the late 1990s. A slew of problems suspended production, but it's intriguing to think of how the movie would've looked had director George Miller been able to get it off the ground in the early 2000s. 

That's precisely what Kyle Buchanan wrote about in one excerpt he shared on Twitter. James Nicholas, George Miller's former executive assistant, mentions, "We weren't sure whether Mel [Gibson] was going to be able to do it." Producer Doug Mitchell then chimes in with, "[Miller] was interested in Brad Pitt at one point. And Angelina [Jolie] at one point!" Apparently, the team was pretty serious about it, too, as Nicholas goes on to state, "I remember putting Brad Pitt's face on Mel's 'Road Warrior' body, just to see what it would look like."

The two actors certainly would've had ample chemistry together, as evidenced by their 2005 film "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." But had "Fury Road" panned out earlier, it's possible the two would've starred opposite one another a lot sooner. Ultimately, the film likely came together with the right cast for the roles, with Tom Hardy assuming the mantle of Max and Theron breathing life into Furiosa. You can learn more about the making of one of the greatest action movies ever made when Buchanan's book comes out on February 22, 2022.