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Mad Max: Fury Road sequel in jeopardy as George Miller sues Warner Bros

The director claims he is owed a multi-million dollar bonus for the film

Clarisse Loughrey
Tuesday 14 November 2017 04:46 EST
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The follow-up to 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road may be headed straight to Valhalla.

Its director George Miller is currently locked in battle with Warner Bros., taking them to court in Australia over allegations the company failed to pay him an agreed multi-million dollar bonus for the film.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, he claims the studio was contracted to pay him a $7 million bonus if the film, the fourth after his original 1979 outing with Mel Gibson in the title role, came in with a final cost of less than $157 million.

Miller claims he is entitled to the bonus, but that Warner Bros. says the film did go over budget due to decisions that he says forced substantial changes and delays to the film.

"We disagree and will vigorously defend against these claims," Warner Bros. said in a statement. The studio tried to move the suit out of Australia, but the country's Supreme Court ruled that the case will be litigated there.

Mad Max: Fury Road Exclusive Behind The Scenes Featurette

The director is also challenging Warner Bros.' co-financing deal with RatPac Entertainment, saying he and the studio had agreed to give his company the first chance to supply that funding.

Certainly, Miller's legal battle puts a block on the franchise moving forward anytime soon, despite Charlize Theron recently revealing that two prequel sequels are already in existence - detailing backstories to her character Furiosa and Tom Hardy's Max.

Fury Road was released to wild critical acclaim and took an impressive $492 million at the worldwide box office, before sweeping through the Oscars.

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