We’ve got some media from two long-in-development pictures today, as follows:

• Riddick – The third film in the Riddick franchise starring Vin Diesel from writer/director David Twohy.  This new image shows off the brooding anti-hero who someone left out in the rain.  The long-awaited film, also starring Karl Urban (Dredd 3D) and Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica), will finally land in theaters September 6th.
• Mad Max: Fury Road – The fourth film in writer/director George Miller’s post-apocalyptic action franchise.  The latest iteration features Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) as Max Rockatansky along with Charlize Theron (Prometheus) and Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class).  New video shows behind-the-scenes footage of the film’s crazy vehicles in action.

Hit the jump to check them out.

Filming on the long-delayed Mad Max: Fury Road finally wrapped several weeks ago, and now we might have our first look at the eponymous road-warrior.  In the new movie, Mad Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) gets caught up with a group of people fleeing across the Wasteland in a War Rig driven by the Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron).  Although George Miller, who directed the previous Mad Max movies, has returned for the fourth installment, we don’t know if the new film is a sequel or a reboot.  The leather outfit may be considered a little outdated (although this set photo from Bleeding Cool showed Hardy rocking the leather pants), so perhaps this is Mad Max for the 21st century?

Hit the jump to check out the full image.  The film also stars Nicholas Hoult, Zoe Kravitz, Riley Keough, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Hugh Keays-Byrne, and Nathan Jones.

New set photos have leaked online from Mad Max: Fury Road.  Filming on the upcoming reboot has been underway in Africa since July 9th, and see the eponymous road warrior (Tom Hardy) caught up with a group of people fleeing across the Wasteland in a War Rig driven by the Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron).  The set photos show that the art department has had a field day drawing up new post-apocalyptic wasteland costumes and vehicles.

Hit the jump to check out the set photos.  The film also stars Nicholas Hoult, Zoe Kravitz, Riley Keough, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Hugh Keays-Byrne, and Nathan Jones.

Filming on the fourth Mad Max film, Mad Max: Fury Road, has been underway for a couple months now, but Kennedy Miller Mitchell Productions have now released an announcement that principal photography has begun.  These production start announcements usually don’t mean much except they usually contain the first synopsis for the movie, and this press release is no different.  We’ll also give the release a pass since Mad Max: Fury Road looked like it might never happen since it was constantly delayed, and the production hit a serious snag when their original location was hit with flooding and turned into an oasis, which doesn’t really lend itself to a post-apocalyptic wasteland.  Shooting is now taking place in Africa.

Hit the jump for the press release, which contains the synopsis along with the names of all the major roles (and there are some great character names).  Mad Max: Fury Road stars Tom Hardy as the new Mad Max, and also stars Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Zoe Kravitz, Riley Keough, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Hugh Keays-Byrne, and Nathan Jones.

Once cast as the Amazon warrior princess Wonder Woman in what was to be George Miller’s failed Justice League film, Megan Gale will finally get to team up with the director in Mad Max: Fury Road.  Her role is unspecified at the moment, but we do have character names for a host of other roles, including that of Hugh Keays-Byrne, who was tapped to star as the Martian Manhunter alongside Gale.  Mad Max: Fury Road features Tom Hardy in the title role along with Charlize Theron as Furiosa.  Hit the jump for more casting info.

We’ve got some early set photos from George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road to share with you today.  From on location in Africa, they feature model/star Abbey Lee Kershaw and some suped-up vehicles that continue the signature look of the Mad Max franchise.  It’s hard to believe that it’s been 27 years since the last Mad Max movie came out, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome starring Mel Gibson. The fourth installment features new additions Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Zoe Kravitz. Hit the jump to check out the first set photos from Mad Max: Fury Road.

[Update: A few more set photos have surfaced, including one of Huntington-Whiteley, Kravtiz, and a few other cast members.  They're included after the jump.]

Here are some recent casting additions at a glance:

• Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica) has been confirmed as a cast member in Machete Kills, starring Danny Trejo.
• Rosie Huntington-Whiteley(Transformers: Dark of the Moon) is set to join the cast of Mad Max: Fury Road.
• Jason Mantzoukas (The Dictator) joins the David Wain-directed comedy, They Came Together, with Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler.

Hit the jump for more.

Director George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road has been a long time coming.  The film was planned as a reboot of sorts for Miller’s Mad Max series that launched Mel Gibson’s career.  Pre-production began in 2009 with Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron set to star, and when filming was finally gearing up to commence in late 2010 on the ambitious, large-scale project, Miller announced that they would have to postpone production until 2012.  Torrential rains flooded the area in Australia where Miller was planning to shoot, so he decided to wait until the landscape returned to its desert-like nature.  Hit the jump for more.

Earlier today I attended a press conference with Mel Gibson as he’s out promoting his new film Edge of Darkness (which I really liked).  During the Q&A, he talked about his involvement in Mad Max 4 and he gave us some new details on his Viking movie.

Regarding Mad Max 4, Gibson said, “At one point I was involved and it fell to bits and then this and that…so now it’s probably gone through a lot of changes and I can’t wait to see it.”  Does that mean he’s definitely not in it?  Hard to say.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he still does a cameo of some kind.

But the big news came when he was talking about his Viking movie.  While we reported about a month ago that he was developing a Viking film with screenwriter William Monahan (The Departed) and it was going to star Leonardo DiCaprio, what we didn’t know is that he’s going for absolute realism!  When we asked what language would be used in the film, Gibson told us:

“I think it’s going to be English – the English that would have been spoken back then – and Old Norse.  Whatever the 9th century had to offer.  I’m going to give you real.”

More after the jump:

Director George Miller is moving ahead with the fourth installment in the Mad Max franchise, Fury Road.  They’ve got they’re lead actors with Tom Hardy (Bronson) taking over the role of ‘Mad’ Max Rockatansky from “Mad” Mel Gibson; Charlize Theron is also attached to co-star.  Filming began last October and they’re reportedly going to shoot for 30 weeks and may cost $100 million.  To put that in perspective, a mid-size film takes about four to six weeks.  This extended shoot may lend credence to at least one of the rumors about the film that surfaced today [via /Film].

Translating this page with the help of technology, Tout Le Cine says that the film will blend live action with animation.  I can see how setting up shots to make sure the two blend together could require more time.  Then again, it’s difficult for me to comprehend what director needs 30 weeks of filming for just one movie.  On a separate note, /Film reports that sources have told them the film will be in 3D as a result of “The Avatar Effect”.  I find this one more difficult to accept since filming has already been going on for over two months now and it seems a little late in the game to have Avatar re-define Miller’s film, especially if Miller didn’t have 3D in mind in the first place.  It’s possible he could create the effect in post, but that would sadly seem like bandwagon-hopping.  Then again, that’s The Avatar Effect: 3D makes everything “better” even though James Cameron always intended his film to be in 3D, rather than making that decision in post-production.

Fury Road is set to hit theaters some time in 2011.