Does the idea of an American providing the voice of Mad Max make you angry?
If so, you're not alone — certain sections of the internet are furious with Avalanche Studios' decision to cast a Yank as the Aussie sci-fi character in an upcoming video game.
Avalanche founder Christofer Sundberg told IGN the studio cast an American in the role because they're treating Mad Max as "a completely new property... an original IP", which is a bold — and, some would argue, pointless — approach to take to a licensed game.
Ausgamers editor Stephen Farrelly has started a petition on Change.org to bring back Max Rockatansky's Aussie accent, thus righting this "affront to Australians who hold the character and movies so dear".
Farrelly isn't asking for Mel Gibson, necessarily — not many people are, these days — but he believes finding an Australian voice actor "would just be the right — and reverent — thing to do".
The owner of Silverton's Mad Max Museum, Adrian Bennett, is similarly outraged.
"They've actually given the main character of Max an American accent, which is quite odd really, considering that Mad Max is Australian through and through," Bennett, who moved from the UK to Silverton after seeing the film, told the ABC.
"You would have thought they'd have given him an Australian accent. I'm not really sure whether gamers themselves would be too bothered, but I think the hardcore fans will probably think it's a bit of a let down that they've done this."
While these quotes may seem a bit over the top, depending on your personal investment in a dystopian sci-fi character's accent, the strongest reaction came from news.com.au, who shared their disappointment that producers felt obliged to "whitewash" Mad Max. Yes, that's right — the term "whitewash" was just used to describe the act of one white person being replaced by another white person.
Just between us, all these guys are going to be outraged when they realise that this guy...
... is playing the character in Mad Max: Fury Road, director George Miller's $100 million reboot of the franchise.
You can sign the petition here now, and have a serious think about your priorities immediately afterwards.
