Mad Max, the classic Aussie sci-fi in 1979 which starred Mel Gibbson , is coming as a new video game next year. The game created by Avalanche Studios, premiered at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).

However, Australian's excitement for the upcoming video game faded right away. The feeling was replaced by outraged upon hearing that the lead role was speaking in American accent as Avalanche opted to cast an American actor for the role.

For the Aussie fans, Mad Max in American accent was a direct insult to the Australian culture; in fact, a petition for hiring an Australian voice actor for the role had been started through change.org and had been gaining significant number of signatures.

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Editor Stephen Farrelly for Ausgamers.com was the one who started the petition in order to keep Mad Max Australian.

According to Mr. Farrelly, "Everything else about the game is true to the origins of the Mad Max film, except for Max's awful American accent. All the Australians at E3 were appalled. We hope that Avalanche studios will listen to what Mad Max fans have to say, and will cast an Australian role for the game's release next year."

Mr. Farrelly shared that he approached officials from Avalanche Studios as soon as the presentation of the video ended during the Expo. "I asked them after the presentation what the decision behind that was, and if they'd change it, but was met with we wanted something generic, and a bit of a shrug any sort of reverence to the character in the same way they're giving vehicles."

When interviewed by IGN, Avalanche's Studio founder Christofer Sundferg had this to say: "We treated this as completely new property, and that was really the only way for us to take on a licensed game. It's the first licensed game we've ever taken on. And we wanted to treat it like an original IP. The setting, where it is in the world, has really nothing to do with the Mad Max video game. It's really a game to do with the relationships between different people in this world."

Luke Reilly, an editor for IGN, had a keen take on why the Avalanche's decision to cast an American voice actor was terribly wrong.

Mr. Reilly wrote that "Mad Max is not some long-forgotten movie from a foreign film industry that barely remembers making it. It's a film credited with truly bringing Australian New Wave cinema to the attention of the world. For two decades, Mad Max, held the world record for the highest profit-to-cost ratio of a motion picture, making around USD $100 million on a budget of just AUD $400,000, until ousted by The Blair Witch Project in 1999. It and its sequels have helped define post-apocalyptic fiction. The junkyard aesthetic and ridiculous clothing of Mad Max's decaying future inspired a host of imitators."

The outraged and disappointment of Aussie fans was clearly expressed by the petition wrote through change.org.

According to the petition, "The titular hero, Max, was played by Mel Gibson whose Australian heritage came across as a gruff, stoic and hardened portrayal of a man who'd lost everything, but still had a sense of hope... Avalanche Studios has, however, chosen to have Max voiced by a "generic" American voice actor. This negates the hero's place in popular culture and is a bit of an affront to Australians who hold the character and movies so dear..."

"We are not asking for Mel Gibson, but finding an Australian voice actor who can channel the max of the popular films would just be the right and reverent thing to do."