No, this is not a remake starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron in "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome," this is actually a sequel of sorts called "Mad Max: Fury Road."

Official pictures, images and an interview with the film's director George Miller were released last week in the independence day weekend issue of Entertainment Weekly. 

How long do you suppose it took to get to this sequel? At least 40 years. Who else is involved in this film besides the adventurous Hardy and Theron? Will Tina Turner make an appearance? Probably not, but we can dream, and some of us have been dreaming for Mad Max's return for a long time.

The first "Mad Max" was released in 1979, and "The Road Warrior" drove into our lives two years later in 1981; then 1985 saw "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" with Mel Gibson returning as Mad Max, and Tina Turner as Aunty Entity.

Now "Mad Max: Fury Road," the fourth film, is co-written and directed by Miller. Similarly, this beyond post-apocalyptic action film is set in the far reaches of Earth amidst a stark desert landscape, while humanity is broken, Screen Crush reported. Everyone is eking out of existence and fighting for their lives, and for every basic necessity.

Hardy is in the role of Max, a man of few words, but a man of action and with a plan: to bring back humanity. Theron plays Imperator Furiosa, a woman of action as well, but she believes her path is one of survival, once she can make it back to her homeland across the desert. Both actors are almost unrecognizable.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Miller's story had been forming in his head since 2000, but it took 10 years to see it clearly. While the actors are visually transformed, physically they are changed as well. Hardy, Theron, and Nicholas Hoult, of "X-Men: Days of Future Past," spent seven grueling months in the Namibian desert filming.

"It was mental in a brilliant way," Hardy said about the process. "You have no concrete, no coffee shops. We were in the middle of a sandpit," he added.

About Hardy's interpretation of Gibson's Max, Miller says he did not want Hardy trying to recreate him. For Miller, Hardy found a way. "Tom [like] Mel and Heath Ledger, these guys all have very similar kind of maleness, I find. I don't know, they somehow remind me of big cats -- they're mesmerizing to look and be with, but you don't know what they're going to do at any moment," Miller said, IndieWire reported.

Finally seeing the production of Mad Max is refreshing because it was originally draped in secrecy for several years. Now Miller and the cast can now reveal certain elements about the film. So now Hoult, Hardy, Theron, and the rest of the cast, Zoe Kravitz, Riley Keough and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, can finally speak, at least in real life -- hopefully they have speaking roles.

Miller says a lot of the film is spent with car chases and almost little or no dialogue. The audience will get to learn about who their characters are by their actions, IndieWire reported.

"Mad Max: Fury Road" is expected to hit theaters on May 15, 2015.