Charlize Theron will star in the fourth outing of the Max Max franchise - Fury Road - alongside Brit thesp Tom Hardy of Black Hawk Down fame.

George Miller, who launched Mel Gibson to stardom with the original 1979 Max Max, and went on to helm The Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome, will direct the movie from his own screenplay.

The script for Mad Max 4 has been knocking around since 2003, Variety notes, and Miller was in the early stages of pre-production when "security concerns over trying to film in Namibia put the project on the back burner".

The revitalised project is now coming together in New South Wales, but Miller refused to be drawn on whether Mel Gibson would return to the role. He said: "It could be Mel, it could be anyone." ®

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