“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is roaring into theaters, widely advertised as a prequel to the director George Miller’s 2015 hit, “Mad Max: Fury Road.” But that was the fourth film in a series that, until now, was chronological, so where does “Furiosa” fit in? How else do these movies intersect, with the numerous cast changes and recalibrations in the 45 years since the inaugural entry? Whether you’re approaching the franchise as a novice or looking for a quick refresher, here’s how it all fits together:
The Films
“MAD MAX” (1979) Miller began his saga with this low-budget Ozploitation hit, which is not yet in the series’s signature style of postapocalyptic action extravaganzas — it’s more indebted to the exploitation cinema standbys of revenge thriller, ’70s car movie and ’60s biker flick. A then-unknown Mel Gibson stars as “Mad” Max Rockatansky, an Australian supercop with the Main Force Patrol. The world of “Mad Max” is in disarray, primarily because of oil shortages, but it’s not yet the wasteland of the later pictures; Max lives a life of relative normalcy, with a doting wife and child, though a roving gang of biker thugs escalates into the murder of Max’s family, turning him into a lone-wolf vigilante.
“MAD MAX 2” (1981) Released in 1982 in the United States as “The Road Warrior” (the earlier film hadn’t made much of an impression here), the first sequel finds Max roaming an Outback that has further descended into lawlessness. He is only looking out for himself, seeking food and petrol to keep moving, but he stumbles on a commune of survivors hiding out in an oil refinery, and helps protect them from violent marauders. This is what we think of when we think of a “Mad Max” movie: a barren landscape, Frankenstein-ed vehicles, improvised weapons, gnarly deaths and a thrilling road-race set piece that takes up most of the third act.
“MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME” (1985) Max lands in Bartertown, a trading post for necessities like oil and water. Entertainment is provided by fights to the death in the Thunderdome. (“Two men enter, one man leaves.”) He later falls in with children orphaned in an airplane crash, whom he reluctantly aids. This is the only PG-13 entry in the otherwise R-rated series, and worse for it (Mad Max is essentially turned into Peter Pan). Given the budget and resources of a major studio, though, Miller experiments with the scale and scope necessary for his next entry.
“MAD MAX: FURY ROAD” (2015) After a 30-year hiatus, Miller returned to the series with this blistering bruiser, which plunges Max (now played by Tom Hardy) into the Citadel, controlled by the evil warlord Immortan Joe. One of his lieutenants, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), sabotages a routine run for petrol and ammunition by smuggling out Joe’s five wives, promising to take them to the idyllic Green Place of her childhood. Max (as usual, reluctantly) assists, and when they discover the Green Place is no more, the group turns back to take down Immortan Joe and take over the Citadel.
“FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA” (2024) In “Fury Road,” Furiosa told of how she was taken from the Green Place and her mother, trying to rescue her, was killed. “Furiosa” relates that story in detail, as young Furiosa (played first by Alyla Browne, then Anya Taylor-Joy) was kidnapped by the gang of the Warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) and made to watch her mother’s murder; he subsequently trades Furiosa to Immortan Joe as part of a deal for control of Gastown, and she learns how to be a road warrior so that she can exact her revenge against Dementus.
The Timeline
One could go mad trying to pin down the precise timeline and chronology of events in the series, as Miller and his co-writers rarely paid attention to details and have frequently “retconned” the narrative due to gaps in production and other outside factors. There was no Marvel-style master plan here: “I can’t even work out the chronology of the first, second and third, let alone the fourth 30 years later,” Miller admitted in 2015.
The original 1979 “Mad Max” opens with no more information than the onscreen text “A few years from now ….” Graffiti on a highway sign is dated December 1984, which would place the events of the film in roughly 1985.
While in production for “Mad Max 2,” the co-writer Terry Hayes penned an official production document called “The Preamble” that filled in some significant gaps. Most important, it indicates that three years had passed since the events of the first film. According to the Preamble and the opening narration, a war over oil in the Persian Gulf has resulted in riots, looting, civil war, and anarchy on highways across the globe. That brings us to approximately 1988.
“Beyond Thunderdome” is set 15 years later, so 2003, according to an interview with Hayes at the time of its release. Dialogue and voice-over indicate that a full-on nuclear apocalypse has occurred in the intervening years, and water is now as scarce as gasoline.
“Fury Road” was originally intended as a direct sequel set immediately after the events in “Thunderdome.” As “Fury Road” languished in development hell, it was revised to accommodate the advancing age of its leading man; Max would be a grizzled survivor, descending into a feral state with the passage of time. However, after Gibson made headlines for anti-Semitic and misogynistic remarks (for which he later apologized), he became a liability to the production. So Max was recast as the much younger Hardy — though the film’s references to decades gone by were retained, with the best guesses placing its events in the mid-21st century. And how is Max still so young? Well, friends, that’s movie magic.
According to Miller, “Furiosa” follows its leading character from age 10 to 26, concluding mere moments before “Fury Road” begins. (One quick shot explicitly quotes that film’s opening image of Max and his car, reminding the audience that he is out there, waiting to join the story.)
The Proper Viewing Chronology
Refreshingly, there is no right way to watch the “Mad Max” movies — in fact, the press notes for “Furiosa” take pains to call it “an all-new original, stand-alone action adventure,” lest any potential ticket buyers stay away out of fear that they’re unprepared.
You can certainly start with “Furiosa,” though shout-outs to events and characters of the other films (especially “Fury Road”) make it somewhat richer for veteran viewers, and you would be wise to sprint for the exits as soon as the end credits begin, as they’re peppered with clips (and potential spoilers) for the 2015 film. If you do start with “Furiosa,” take in “Fury Road” immediately afterward.
You can also pair up the newer films without watching the original trilogy, or vice versa. But the ideal viewing order would be narratively chronological: the original films in order of release — “Mad Max,” “Mad Max 2” and “Beyond Thunderdome” — followed by “Furiosa” (minus end credits), and finishing with the roaring capper of “Fury Road.” Of course, that’s merely this viewer’s opinion; your mileage, as they say, may vary.
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