Warning! This article contains spoilers for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Summary
Mad Max has a cameo inFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga, which makes one curious about who plays him in the prequel film and what his appearance means for the movie franchise’s future.Furiosais the fifth installment in theMad Maxmovie seriesand the only installment in the franchise that does not feature Max Rockatansky as one of its leads. However, despite directing its focus towardsMad Max: Fury Road’s female lead, the film does not shy away from briefly featuring Max.
Appearing in a scene from the film’s second half, but beforeFuriosa’s ending, Max can be seen standing next to his Interceptor while watching Anya Taylor-Joy’s Furiosa struggling to survive in the harsh wasteland. Unfortunately, the Mad Max cameo inFuriosais so fleeting that it passes even before a viewer realizes they spotted Max. Despite its brevity, though, the Mad Max cameo inFuriosaraises many a question surrounding the character’s significance and connection to the overarchingMad Maxstoryline.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’s Post-Credits Scene Explained
The Mad Max franchise has its first credits scene, as Furiosa does include a post-credits scene. Here’s what happens and what it could set up.
Tom Hardy’s Regular Stunt Double Plays The Character
SinceFuriosa: A Mad Max Sagafeatures a blink-or-miss Mad Max cameo in which Max’s face is not even visible, it is hard not to assume that Tom Hardy is playing the character in the prequel. However, the actor who plays Max inFuriosa’s castisJacob Tomuri, Tom Hardy’s stunt double fromMad Max: Fury Road. Tomuri has also previously served as Hardy’s stunt double in other big-budget movies likeLegend,The Revenant, andVenom. Even in Tom Hardy’s upcoming action movie,Havoc, Tomuri continues playing Hardy’s stunt double, showcasing their long-term professional partnership.
Since Tomuri has consistently been cast as Tom Hardy’s double, it makes sense that he was featured inFuriosa’s intriguing but narratively insignificant Mad Max cameo scene.As George Miller confirmed, Jacob Tomuri was onFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga’s set for other stunts, making the director realize there was no better choice to play Max than Tom Hardy’s long-term stunt double. This allowed Miller to maintain a semblance of continuity betweenMad Max: Fury RoadandFuriosa: A Mad Max Sagawithout getting Tom Hardy involved.
Somewhere Between The Third And The Fourth Film
George Miller disclosed thatFuriosa’s eventsunfold 15 years beforeMad Max: Fury Road. He also added that “Max is lurking around somewhere in this story,” which is exactly what he seems to be doing in the brief cameo scene. SinceMad Max Beyond Thunderdometakes place somewhere in the early 2000s andMad Max: Fury Roadensues several decades afterThunderdome’s events, it would be safe to say thatthe cameo scene lies somewhere between the third(Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome) and the fourth (Mad Max: Fury Road) installmentof the movie franchise.
Strangely, however, the Mad Max cameo moment inFuriosaseems identical toMad Max: Fury Road’s opening scene. In both, Max stands beside his Interceptor and stares at the expanse while forcing down a meal. Although the camera angle in theFuriosacameo is slightly different, it is hard not to notice the parallels between the two pivotal moments from the franchise. These similarities between the two movie scenes were likely intentional and supposed to explicitly establish that theFuriosa: A Mad Max Sagascene features no one but Max Rockatansky.
War Boy
Furiosa Does Not Confirm Whether Max Helped Her
The Mad Max cameo inFuriosa: A Mad Max Sagacomes right after Anya Taylor-Joy’s character escapes Dementus and his men but loses her arm in the process. Although Dementus is unable to catch her, Furiosa is left severely injured and barely limps her way to a safer place. While she struggles to survive and find refuge, Max seemingly watches her from a distance but does nothing to help. Moments later, Furiosa wakes up in a cave under the Citadel, surrounded by maggot-infested bodies.Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagamaintains an air of ambiguity surrounding what happens before Anya Taylor-Joy’s character finds herself in the cave.
…Max probably keeps his distance from Furiosa because the world around him has turned him too calloused and skeptical to extend help to strangers.
Owing to this, it would be fair to assume that two possibilities exist:either Max saves her by taking her to the cave, or he keeps his distance despite seeing her struggle. If the former holds true, Max probably dropped her in the cave and left before she woke up. On the other hand, if the latter happened, Max probably kept his distance from Furiosa because the world around him had turned him too calloused and skeptical to extend help to strangers. Either way, Max’s cautiousness towards the situation is in tandem with what hequotes inMad Max: Fury Road’s opening sequence:
I am the one that runs from both the living and the dead. Hunted by scavengers, haunted by those I could not protect. So I exist in this wasteland, reduced to one instinct: survive.
In Many Ways, Furiosa’s Max Reminds One Of Gibson’s Take On The Character
Considering the narrative connections betweenFuriosa: A Mad Max SagaandMad Max: Fury Road, it is hard not to assume that the Max inFuriosais the one Tom Hardy plays inFury Road. However, as the cameo scene suggests, Max seems to be gulping down dog food as he watches Furiosa, whichreminds one of theMad Max 2scene where Mel Gibson’s Max Rockatansky enjoys a spoonful of Dinki-Di’s meat and veggies. Since the scene does not reveal his face, one can even notice how his demeanor seems more similar to Gibson’s iteration of the character than Tom Hardy’s.
By merging the two versions of the same character,Furiosa’s cameo scene underscores how Max is more of an archetype than a singular character.
Therefore, even though the movie franchise’s timeline suggests that Tom Hardy’s version of the character appears inFuriosa, it would be fair to say that theFury Roadprequel bridges Mel Gibson and Tom Hardy’s take on the character. By merging the two versions of the same character,Furiosa’s cameo underscores how Max is more of an archetype than a singular character. While both Mel Gibson and Tom Hardy have done an incredible job at portraying Max in their respective films,Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’s cameo scene shows how Max’s appeal transcends individual performances and rests more on how he represents a man’s struggle to survive.
Furiosa: Why One 15-Minute Action Scene Took 78 Days To Film
A certain 15-minute action sequence in George Miller and Anya Taylor-Joy’s upcoming Furiosa took 200 stunt people and 78 days to shoot.
George Miller’s Plans Suggest There Will Be More Of Max In The Future
Based on George Miller’s plans for theMad Maxfranchise, two new movies could see the light of day in the near future. While one, titledMad Max: The Wasteland, would serve as a sequel toMad Max: Fury Road, the other would be a prequel set one year before the events ofMad Max: Fury Road. Although the plot details surroundingMad Max: The Wastelandremain shrouded,it should include Max as one of its leads since it directly continuesFury Road’s narrative.
Similarly, the prequel should also feature Mad Max as a primary character because, as George Miller confirmed, its story would focus on everything that happened to Tom Hardy’s character one year beforeFury Road’s events. While it would be strange if George Miller followed upFuriosawith another prequel instead of moving the franchise further into the future, it is interesting howMiller seems more interested in exploring different facets of theMad Maxuniverseinstead of treading the same path as most other movie franchises. Regardless of what happens afterFuriosa: A Mad Max Sagain the franchise, Mad Max will likely be seen again.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
A prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa is an action-adventure film that tells the origin story of the headstrong and fearless Furiosa. Set shortly after the beginning of the “end of the world,” Furiosa is kidnapped and brought before a powerful warlord, now forced to work for him. To find her way back home, Furiosa will adapt to the new harsh and arid world as she grows into the Furiosa she becomes known to be.
