Mel Gibson Makes Surprise Appearance At ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Premiere

Move over Tom Hardy – the original “Mad Max” is in the house!

Mel Gibson made a surprise appearance on Thursday night at the “Mad Max: Fury Road” Hollywood premiere.

Mel – who played the title character in the original “Mad Max” (1979), as well as the sequel “The Road Warrior” (1981) and “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” (1985) – hit the red carpet to pose with current “Mad Max” star Tom Hardy and director George Miller – who helmed the original film, as well as the new reboot.

PHOTOS: Mel Gibson, Charlize & More At ‘Mad Max’ Premiere

Not to be outdone, current “Mad Max” leading lady Charlize Theron also had her own red carpet surprise, as she and Sean Penn posed hand-in-hand at the premiere.

As for the movie, Charlize said taking on the role of the shaved head, badass Furiosa in the post-apocalyptic desert setting was a unique experience.

WATCH: Charlize Theron On Shaving Her Head For ‘Mad Max’

“I think George spent a lot of time wanting to create a woman that felt very real to this world, and therefore she’s very flawed and broken, and I appreciated that,” Stephanie Bauer on the red carpet.

Tom Hardy also spoke of the effort the cast put in to make sure George Miller’s vision was properly brought to life on the big screen.

“It was an arduous shoot because of the nature of George wanting to capture everything with live effects, as opposed to CGI. It was quite slow and methodical and it took about seven months,” the actor explained to Stephanie.

“Mad Max: Fury Road” – also featuring Nicholas Hoult, Nathan Jones, Zoe Kravitz, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Riley Keough — storms into theaters May 15, 2015.

— Eric Anderson