Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and the Mad Max video game.

The lore of the Mad Max franchise has never been entirely clear, but Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga canonized one surprising story nine years after it was released. The Mad Max franchise has had a very confusing timeline ever since it was created. The first three movies, starring Mel Gibson as the titular character, didn’t directly follow each other, and acted more as loose legends surrounding the idea of “the Road Warrior.” Mad Max: Fury Road didn’t help with that problem, as it recast Max and acted as a soft reboot for the entire franchise, which made the Mad Max timeline even more uncertain.

As a product of that uncertain timeline, it was often hard to discern which Mad Max stories were canon and which weren’t. Furiosa recently cleared up some of that confusion and made a more cohesive timeline, and in doing so, it changed another story’s status in canon. This decision came as quite a surprise, as the story that Furiosa canonized had been one of the few stories that was known to be non-canon for nearly a decade. With the new movie, however, it fits nearly perfectly into Mad Max‘s lore, and the franchise is better for having it.

The Mad Max Video Game Fits With Furiosa’s Canon

Ever since it was first released in 2015, the Mad Max video game has been in a strange classification with regard to its status in the franchise’s canon. For years, it was widely considered to be just a spinoff, and that its events didn’t affect the movies, particularly Fury Road. Now, however, the Mad Max game fits into the franchise’s canon, thanks to some lore reveals from Furiosa, the Mad Max cameo in Furiosa, and one character in particular.

Scabrous Scrotus was the main antagonist of the Mad Max video game, but he never appeared in Fury Road, and no one made mention of him. Many used that as evidence that the game was non-canon, but now, Furiosa brought Scrotus to live-action in a way that fits almost perfectly with the game. There were a few major lore reveals in the game, and one of them established that Scrotus defeated Dementus in battle. Dementus’ death was slightly different at the end of Furiosa, but they did wage the 40-day Wasteland War against each other, and Scrotus could have simply taken credit for Furiosa’s accomplishment.

Outside the story itself, it seems that director George Miller and the other creators of Mad Max also consider the video game canon. A post from Drew McWeeny, who read the script for Furiosa, claimed that the notes in the script “make it clear the Mad Max video game is canon.” That does seem to be the case, as the Mad Max game offers quite a bit of valuable context to both Furiosa and Fury Road. The new movie even includes some key elements from the game, such as the character Chumbucket, who made a brief appearance when gave Furiosa a car towards the end.

The Time Between Furiosa & Mad Max: Fury Road Was Depicted In The Mad Max Video Game

While Furiosa does a great job of filling in the time before Fury Road, it didn’t completely flesh out the Mad Max timeline, and there was still quite a bit that happened between the two movies. Now that the game is canon, though, that gap has been almost completely filled. The Mad Max game explains so much of what happened between Furiosa and Fury Road, and it even establishes that Max killed Scrotus between the movies, which explains his absence. The game doesn’t just complete storylines that were left open-ended in Furiosa, though, it also gives better context for Fury Road.

Much Of Fury Road’s Backstory Is Hidden In The Mad Max Game

Fury Road seemingly picks up right in the middle of an ongoing story, and the game confirms that’s exactly what happened. At the start of Fury Road, Max was seemingly wandering aimlessly, he was experiencing terrifying visions, and his iconic black Interceptor was in such bad shape that it couldn’t outrun a few War Boys. The Mad Max game explains each one of those details, as Scrotus had nearly totaled the Interceptor, Max was searching for the Plains of Silence, and he had nearly lost after the deaths of Hope and Glory, the mother and child who appeared in his visions.

The Mad Max game also does quite a bit to explain the world of Furiosa and Fury Road, as the game explores several parts of the Wasteland that the movies didn’t have time for. This includes factions like the Buzzards, who were featured but not heavily focused on in the movies, as well as settlements beyond the Three Fortresses of the Wasteland. The game even adds some variety to the Wasteland, as it added environments like sulfur flats, canyons, caves, and more to the largely arid Wasteland.

Now that the Mad Max video game is canon, one of the best stories in the entire franchise can be considered official. In addition to what the game does for the Mad Max movies, it also brings in several elements and characters that were only featured in the game. This means beloved characters like Chumbucket and interesting new areas of the Wasteland could be explored in upcoming Mad Max movies. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is great on its own, but the fact that it canonized the Mad Max video game makes it an even better addition to the franchise.

Source: Drew McWeeny

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  Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

  R

  Adventure

  Sci-Fi

  Action

  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. 

  Director

  George Miller

  Release Date

  
  May 24, 2024
  

  Studio(s)

  Warner Bros. Pictures

  Distributor(s)

  Warner Bros. Pictures

  Writers

  George Miller
  , Nick Lathouris

  Cast

  Chris Hemsworth
  , Anya Taylor-Joy

  Runtime

  148 minutes

  Franchise(s)

  Mad Max

  Sequel(s)

  Mad Max: Fury Road

  Budget

  168 million

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  Mad Max: Fury Road

  R

  Action

  Adventure

  Thriller

  Fantasy

  Mad Max: Fury Road is the fourth film in George Miller’s long-running sci-fi franchise, with Tom Hardy starring as Max Rockstansky, a vagabond who lives on the road in an apocalyptic wasteland. When Max comes across a cult group that keeps its people in fear and under control with a monopoly on water and other crucial supplies, he joins up with Imperator Furiosa, a warrior woman leading a rebellion against the cult’s leader, Immortan Joe.

  Director

  George Miller

  Release Date

  
  May 14, 2015
  

  Studio(s)

  Village Roadshow Pictures
  , RatPac-Dune Entertainment
  , Kennedy Miller Mitchell

  Distributor(s)

  Warner Bros. Pictures

  Writers

  George Miller
  , Brendan McCarthy
  , Nick Lathouris

  Cast

  Tom Hardy
  , Charlize Theron
  , Nicholas Hoult
  , Zoe Kravitz
  , Hugh Keays-Byrne
  , Riley Keough
  , Courtney Eaton
  , Abbey Lee
  , Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

  Runtime

  120 Minutes

  Franchise(s)

  Mad Max

  Sequel(s)

  Mad Max: The Wasteland

  Budget

  $154-185 Million

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