Furiosa Needs To Avoid 1 Big Mad Max Mistake (That It’s Timeline Makes Very Possible)

Furiosa serves as a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, but the movie must avoid a franchise mistake despite how well the timeline lines up. Mad Max‘s full timeline is certainly a complicated one. While George Miller’s original Mad Max trilogy was thought to have taken place within a 15-20 year span, Fury Road made the timeline even more confusing. From a canon standpoint, Fury Road was set after Beyond Thunderdome, but seeing as Tom Hardy’s Max Rockatansky was seemingly younger than Mel Gibson’s final portrayal, it’s clear that continuity has never been a major focus for the series.

Either way, Furiosa takes place 15 years before Fury Road, following a younger version of Charlize Theron’s character. This time around, Anya Taylor-Joy will portray the female protagonist, and though Immortan Joe is involved, the villain for this chapter of Furiosa’s saga is Chris Hemsworth’s Dementus. Before Immortan Joe came to power, Dementus apparently ruled the Wasteland, but the conflict between the two tyrants will seemingly spill out in Furiosa, with the titular figure stuck somewhere in the middle. According to Miller, another notable figure might also have some kind of involvement.

Furiosa’s Timeline Means A Max Appearance Is Possible

In addition to confirming the prequel’s timeline, George Miller teased an appearance of Max in Furiosa. Considering Max’s age in Fury Road, flashing back 15 years in the franchise would mean the Road Warrior would be around 20 years old during the events of Furiosa. Miller stated that “Max is lurking around somewhere in this story,” which makes sense considering his role in the franchise initially fought for peace after the apocalypse. This has caused him to come face-to-face with several dangerous factions and warlords. If Dementus is genuinely a threat to the Wasteland, Max would be familiar with him.

What’s more, Miller mentioned that Furiosa leads “runs straight into” Fury Road, suggesting the timeline of events will lead directly to the start of the 2015 movie. By then, Furiosa will be serving as Immortan Joe’s lieutenant while the warlord controls the Citadel. Even if Max doesn’t appear in Furiosa‘s core events set 15 years prior, if the prequel jumps to Fury Road‘s events, an appearance by Hardy is very plausible. A surprise appearance could be in store, seeing as Miller and the cast haven’t directly confirmed an appearance by Hardy or a version of Max.

Why Furiosa Needs To Avoid Including Max (Even As A Cameo)

Despite the timeline making a Max appearance possible in Furiosa, the prequel should avoid any direct use of the character in any capacity, even a cameo. The purpose of the prequel is to follow Furiosa’s story, as the title suggests. She was an incredibly compelling figure in Fury Road, but the fourth installment was still heavily presented as a Max Rockatansky chapter. Furiosa is an opportunity for Taylor-Joy to take what Theron and Miller initially developed with the character and craft a deeper origin story.

Even a cameo from Max would distract from the prequel’s primary mission of rightfully fleshing out Furiosa as a character. If the movie wants to go all-in on the character, it must avoid any appearances of Max. Prequels often rely too much on setting up storylines or spend too much time bridging the franchise gaps. Using Max in any capacity would fall into that prequel trap. While there will undoubtedly be many connections and references made to the larger Mad Max franchise, Max’s existence can still be touched on without an actual appearance. Leaving him out of Furiosa will also make his inevitable return in the long-awaited Mad Max 5 even more exciting.