The Mad Max franchise is returning to the big screen for a fifth installment with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. As the highly anticipated film approaches its theatrical release, you might be wondering where it fits in the series’ timeline.
Mad Max is a post-apocalyptic action series that follows the exploits of “Mad Max” Rockatansky, a cop-turned-vigilante, as he navigates a dystopian Australia. Mel Gibson portrayed the titular character for the first three movies in the series before Tom Hardy took over the role in 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road. The film also introduced us to Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), who forms an alliance with Max to take down the brutal warlord Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne).
Furiosa quickly became a favorite, with fans praising Theron’s brilliant performance, and how the character doesn’t fall prey to the female stereotypes often perpetuated in film. Furiosa is depicted as a powerful, pragmatic leader and a woman who is fierce, brave, and independent but also deeply compassionate and a champion for others. However, Mad Max: Fury Road is still as much Max’s story as it is Furiosa’s—so it was quite exciting when we learned that Furiosa was getting her own story in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Is Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga a prequel?
For those curious about how the new movie fits into the franchise, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga serves as a prequel to Fury Road. Anya Taylor-Joy stars as a young Furiosa, while Lachy Hulme portrays the young Immortan Joe. In Fury Road, Furiosa’s backstory is touched upon, as it’s revealed she ended up working for Joe after she was kidnapped from her home, the Green Place, over 20 years before the film’s events. As a result, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starts with Furiosa’s kidnapping from the Green Place and follows her attempts to make her way back home.
While the exact year in which Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is set hasn’t been specified, it appears to take place roughly 15 to 20 years before Fury Road. At the beginning of the film, a 10-year-old Furiosa is portrayed by Ayla Brown before there’s a time jump to the young adult Furiosa, portrayed by Taylor-Joy. In Fury Road, it’s estimated that Furiosa is between her 30s and 40s, so the ages and backstories in both movies line up.
