Mad Max: Fury Road - Rumors, Release Date, Leaks, and Trailer; Why Tom Hardy is a Better Choice Than Mel Gibson

The post-apocolyptic Mad Max: Fury Road is expected to kick off next year's summer movie season. And it seems the lead actor in the film is a better pick than the original late '70s Mad Max movie starring Mel Gibson. 

"Tom is intense. He's going to be a great Mad Max," photographer Jasin Boland told the Sydney Morning Herald about the movie.

The website Indiewire shared the new synopsis and some spoilers for the movie:

"Haunted by his turbulent past, Mad Max believes the best way to survive is to wander alone. Nevertheless, he becomes swept up with a group fleeing across the Wasteland in a War Rig driven by an elite Imperator, Furiosa. They are escaping a Citadel tyrannized by the Immortan Joe, from whom something irreplaceable has been taken. Enraged, the Warlord marshals all his gangs and pursues the rebels ruthlessly in the high-octane Road War that follows."

This Max is a more modern tough guy played by Tom Hardy, who has played any manner of bad guy and tough brawler in any number of movies is the right choice for this role. The difference between the original Max character can be felt immediately, from the initial gravel voice of Hardy that you hear in the trailer for the movie that debuted at this year's Comic Con. "My Name is Max," he says before a wild car chase ensues. 

Miller has described the movie as having minimal dialogue with the main spoiler being that it'll comprise of a car chase that lasts for more than an hour and a half. 

What makes this potential summer 2015 blockbuster special, besides the fact you'll see Charlize Theron, who is leading a group of female warriors, battling with a metal hand is that it's written, directed and produced by George Miller, the same director of the original version of the movie. The movie is expected to open on May 15, 2015.

This film though, some 10 years in the making, is being called a reboot of the original movie, which was about a future with almost no water and marauding bands of psychotic bad guys running around stealing gas and taking lives. 

"He's a rebooted Mad Max, but it's a new interpretation. We made it very clear from the outset that it  

Here's a complete breakdown of the actors and their characters in the film, from Indiewire.com:

Mad Max: Fury Road" is the fourth movie in the franchise's history and stars Tom Hardy ("The Dark Knight Rises") in the title role, alongside Oscar winner Charlize Theron ("Monster," "Prometheus") as the Imperator, Furiosa. The film also stars Nicholas Hoult ("X-Men: Days of Future Past") as Nux; Hugh Keays-Byrne ("Mad Max", "Sleeping Beauty") as Immortan Joe; and Nathan Jones ("Conan the Barbarian") as Rictus Erectus. Collectively known as The Wives, Zoë Kravitz ("Divergent") plays Toast, Riley Keough ("Magic Mike") is Capable, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley ("Transformers: Dark of the Moon") is Splendid.

They are joined by supermodel Abbey Lee as The Dag and Courtney Eaton as Fragile, both of whom are making heir big screen debuts. Also featured in the movie are Josh Helman as Slit, Jennifer Hagan as Miss Giddy, and singer/songwriter/performer iOTA as Coma-Doof Warrior. The cast is rounded out by well-known Australian actors John Howard and Richard Carter, supermodel Megan Gale, Angus Sampson, Joy Smithers, Gillian Jones, Melissa Jaffer and Melita Jurisic.