WETA, the visual effects company based in New Zealand who made a name for themselves with their work on The Lord of the Rings trilogy and has worked on around 20 of the best sci-fi/fantasy films over the last decade, including Avatar and District 9 has officially announced that that they are working on George Miller‘s upcoming film, Mad Max: Fury Road.

From WETA:

We’re thrilled to announce our involvement with Mad Max: Fury Road, a long-awaited continuation of the Mad Max suite, the last installment of which, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, premiered 25 years ago.

As with previous Mad Max movies, George Miller is the director and Weta is very excited to be working with George on conceptual design, Specialty Make-Up FX, Costume and Dummies. The movie is currently scheduled for a 2012 release.

Mad Max: Fury Road is slated to hit theaters in 2012.