“Mad Max: Fury Road” appears to be going off-track.
Warner Bros. has dispatched superstar producer Denise Di Novi (“The Lucky One,” Crazy, Stupid, Love”) to oversee production on the forthcoming “Beyond Thunderdome” follow-up, which is reportedly running over budget and behind schedule.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the news, Di Novi’s supervisory role reportedly follows a recent trip by Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinov to the film’s Namibia set to “evaluate” director George Miller’s progress after production fell several days behind schedule.
Di Novi’s involvement, which will see her serving as the “eyes and ears” of the studio, is not expected to land her a producer credit on the film, the fourth in Miller’s famed “Mad Max” series that has Tom Hardy taking over from Mel Gibson in the title role alongside Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Zoe Kravitz.
Miller is no stranger to cost overruns, the most recent example being last year’s “Happy Feet Two,” also a Warner Bros. production. The studio’s experience with Miller on that film, which flopped theatrically, has clearly made them a little jumpy with regards to this latest collaboration.
“Fury Road'” Is expected to wrap production next month.
Thoughts on the studio’s aggressive maneuver, anyone? Sound off in the comments.