Tom Hardy-starring film will hit cinemas on May 15, 2015

The much-delayed Mad Max 4: Fury Road has finally received a new release date.

Warner Bros have now confirmed that the film, which will see Tom Hardy taking over the franchise lead from Mel Gibson, will be in cinemas on May 15, 2015. It will also be the first installment in the series, which was made famous by Gibson in three films released between 1979 and 1985, to be screened in 3D.

The new sequel is being directed by Mad Max creator George Miller and will co-star Charlize Theron as a character called Imperator Furiosa. Former Skins star Nicholas Hoult will portray a figure called Nux, while other key characters are called Slit, Miss Giddy, Rictus Erectus and Coma Doof-Warrior, with model-turned-actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley will also feature. The script has been written by Miller with British comic book artist Brendan McCarthy and Nico Lathouris, a former Heartbreak High actor who had a small role in the original Mad Max film.

Speaking in 2012 about the film's plot, Miller said: "Mad Max is caught up with a group of people fleeing across the Wasteland in a War Rig driven by the Imperator Furiosa. This movie is an account of the Road War which follows. It is based on the Word Burgers of the History Men and eyewitness accounts of those who survived."