The first question asked of Mel Gibson at today’s Edge of Darkness press conference was about whether or not he was going to be in Mad Max 4. Mel gave an interesting answer that reads like a denial on the surface but leaves room for something different.

I’ve talked to George [Miller]. We talk all the time anyway.  I’m abreast of that.  He’s been trying to do this for years, the 4th installment.  At one point I was involved and it fell to bits… so now it’s probably gone through a lot of changes and I can’t wait to see it because everything he does is magic.  There is a touch of genius about George.

Saying ‘I can’t wait to see it’ does indicate that Mel is not going to be in the movie. But he never came right out and said, ‘I’m not going to be in the movie.’ In fact, he says up front that he and George have talked about the movie, and the context of the question made it seem like they’ve talked recently (which is backed up by the ‘talk all the time anyway’ bit).

So at the danger of overparsing this shit into oblivion, it seems like Mel is leaving just enough of a door open for him to appear in Mad Max: Fury Road, although if I had to guess it would be in a cameo as opposed to anything serious. And of course he’s leaving it open enough that if he doesn’t make it into the movie it doesn’t look like a falling out between him and Miller.

Or he could really just not have anything to do with the film and isn’t thinking that some dweeb like me is going to go home and tear apart every single word he uttered trying to find some hidden meaning.