Mel Gibson will not make a cameo in Mad Max 4: Fury Road, director George Miller has revealed.

The film will see Tom Hardy take over the franchise lead from Gibson, who made the series famous due to his starring roles in three installments between 1979 and 1985. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, series creator Miller said of Gibson's potential involvement in the next film: "It would have been nice somehow but, no, it's not true. Our film, luckily after a ridiculous amount of work, is testing extremely well. We're very happy."

The much-delayed Mad Max 4: Fury Road will be the first film in the series to be screened in 3D and will hit cinemas on May 15, 2015. Alongside Hardy, Charlize Theron will co-star as a character called Imperator Furiosa. Former Skins actor 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."