Jan 14, 2026 · 30 min · 19 segments
Making Mad Max on water is hard. Let’s talk about how difficult it was to make Waterworld, from the budget spiraling out of control, to the recurring feud between Kevin Costner and Director Kevin…
Thanks to a grueling press cycle and the resulting rumor mill, many would have you believe that Waterworld was one of the most expensive fiascos in film history.
But was it really? Waterworld was a harrowing journey to put on screen, flush with the drama of its lead actor feuding with his director and the pricey insanity of making a movie entirely on the ocean.
Despite that, calling it a box office bomb isn't quite accurate.
But yes, it was an absolute shitshow.
For a film as historically expensive as Waterworld, it's incredibly ironic that it actually first set sail as a bargain bin Roger Corman B movie.
In 1986, Hollywood was still churning out knockoffs of George Miller's action classic Mad Max 2, aka The Road Warrior.
And Corman was looking to produce his own version, but of course, on the cheap.
Writer Peter Rader was tasked with coming up with an original take on the post-apocalyptic trope.
I wasn't really willing to just rehash that genre without some kind of cool variation.
And, you know, I was doing some sailing at the time and I was walking around a marina and I was like, that's it.
On water.
Let's set it on water.
Raider pitched a world after the polar ice caps had all melted and Earth became one giant ocean, leaving humanity as drifters on their man-made islands.
Raider was rejected instantly.
And he was like,
are you out of your goddamn mind a movie like that that what's that what's actually gonna cost us five million dollars it's a no pass you know and i said well you know what i still like that idea a lot and i'm gonna go write it little did i know that it would become the most expensive movie in history
Unrestrained by budget, Raider penned a huge, colorful epic filled with Western imagery, Greek mythology, and religious iconography.
From the search of the fabled Mount Ararat to the trident-wielding villain Neptune sitting on his clamshell throne.
Our lone hero, with his bulky river barge retrofitted with a sail and cannons, and his literal white horse companion, is racing to find dry land.
The script ends with the reveal that the last remaining piece of solid ground is Mount Everest.
Raider sat on the script until 1988, when it ended up in the hands of producers Andy Licht and Jeff Mueller.
They had just produced their first film, License to Drive, and were working on their second, Little Monsters.
But they wanted to flex their muscles with something bigger.
Looking at Waterworld, they discussed endlessly with Raider about how they could feasibly and safely make a film of this size on water.
Thanks to a grueling press cycle and the resulting rumor mill, many would have you believe that Waterworld was one of the most expensive fiascos in film history.
But was it really? Waterworld was a harrowing journey to put on screen, flush with the drama of its lead actor feuding with his director and the pricey insanity of making a movie entirely on the ocean.
Despite that, calling it a box office bomb isn't quite accurate.
But yes, it was an absolute shitshow.
For a film as historically expensive as Waterworld, it's incredibly ironic that it actually first set sail as a bargain bin Roger Corman B movie.
In 1986, Hollywood was still churning out knockoffs of George Miller's action classic Mad Max 2, aka The Road Warrior.
And Corman was looking to produce his own version, but of course, on the cheap.
Writer Peter Rader was tasked with coming up with an original take on the post-apocalyptic trope.
I wasn't really willing to just rehash that genre without some kind of cool variation.
And, you know, I was doing some sailing at the time and I was walking around a marina and I was like, that's it.
On water.
Let's set it on water.
Raider pitched a world after the polar ice caps had all melted and Earth became one giant ocean, leaving humanity as drifters on their man-made islands.
Raider was rejected instantly.
And he was like,
are you out of your goddamn mind a movie like that that what's that what's actually gonna cost us five million dollars it's a no pass you know and i said well you know what i still like that idea a lot and i'm gonna go write it little did i know that it would become the most expensive movie in history
Unrestrained by budget, Raider penned a huge, colorful epic filled with Western imagery, Greek mythology, and religious iconography.
From the search of the fabled Mount Ararat to the trident-wielding villain Neptune sitting on his clamshell throne.
Our lone hero, with his bulky river barge retrofitted with a sail and cannons, and his literal white horse companion, is racing to find dry land.
The script ends with the reveal that the last remaining piece of solid ground is Mount Everest.
Raider sat on the script until 1988, when it ended up in the hands of producers Andy Licht and Jeff Mueller.
They had just produced their first film, License to Drive, and were working on their second, Little Monsters.
But they wanted to flex their muscles with something bigger.
Looking at Waterworld, they discussed endlessly with Raider about how they could feasibly and safely make a film of this size on water.
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