First Image Of Tom Hardy In Mad Max: Fury Road

It’s been some time since we’ve heard any news regarding Mad Max: Fury Road. The fourth film in writer/director George Miller’s Mad Max franchise has been in development-limbo for years and has finally finished production after a six-month film shoot in Namibia and South Africa. Now, thanks to a photo that’s made its way onto Tumblr, we have our first look at The Dark Knight Rises actor Tom Hardy in the title role and you can check it out below.

In Mad Max: Fury Road, Max Rockatansky AKA Mad Max (played by Tom Hardy who replaces former franchise-star Mel Gibson) becomes involved with a group of people feeling across the Wasteland in a War Rig driven by the Imperator Furiosa (played by the beautiful Charlize Theron). According to Miller, it will be an account of the Road War which follows and is based on ‘the Word Burgers of the History Men and eyewitness accounts of those who survived’.

Rounding out the cast are Nicholas Hoult (from the upcoming Jack the Giant Slayer), Transformers: Dark of the Moon star Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Zoe Kravitz, Nathan Jones, and Hugh Keays-Byrne. The film currently has no concrete release date, but considering the amount of delays that have already plagued the production, I wouldn’t expect to see it in theaters any time before 2014.

In the image, which is obviously not an official one, Hardy looks to be channeling much of Mel Gibson’s ruggedness of the previous films as he walks across the Wasteland. I’ve become a big fan of Hardy’s over the years, slightly due to the fact that I’m a lover of all things Star Trek, and he’s come a long way since playing the villainous Shinzon in 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis.

While I’m a bit concerned that the overall quality of the film will be affected by the numerous delays it’s been forced to endure (filming began more than eighteen months later than scheduled), I’m still really excited for this. It’s been twenty-eight years since Mad Max graced the big screen and Mad Max: Fury Road has been a long time coming.

How do you think Hardy looks in the title role? Let us know in the comments below.