Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome them, as Max, still alive in the desert, wanders on to places unknown. "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" was the first "Mad Max" film made without producer Byron Kennedy, who was killed in a helicopter crash in 1983 while location scouting for the film. While the film was in development before Kennedy's death, director George Miller was hesitant to continue without his producing partner. "I was reluctant to go ahead," said Miller. "And then there was a sort of need to – let's do something just to get over the shock and grief of all of that." A title card at
Mad Max: Fury Road stories to tell." Later in May, Miller revealed that plans for the sequel had changed and the fifth film in the franchise will instead be titled "Mad Max: The Wasteland". In October 2015, Miller's team had two scripts for sequels which they ended up with during the writing process. Later that month, he clarified that "Mad Max: The Wasteland" was a working title for the sequel. Miller reaffirmed his intent to continue the franchise after reports to the contrary surfaced following an interview in January 2016. In November 2017, it was reported that a lawsuit filed by Miller's production company