Back in the early part of the decade, Mel Gibson was cast in the movie. We were about to shoot, and then 9/11 happened and that caused a whole lot of issues, not the least of which was a decline in the American dollar and we lost a significant amount of our budget. At the same time, we had to move on Happy Feet. I thought, “Okay, we’ll do Happy Feet, and take four years for that.” So, we did that, and then, by the time we came out of that, it just went on and on. It’s not a story about an old Mad Max. It’s a story about a younger Mad Max. So, I had to find a new Mad Max. Luckily, Tom Hardy came along. – Director George Miller