Anya Taylor-Joy’sFuriosa: A Mad Max Sagabroke one of theMad Maxfranchise’s oldest rules 44 years afterMad Max 2: The Road Warriorcreated it.Furiosawas a unique movie for theMad Maxfranchise in a number of ways. For example, it was the first of theMad Maxmoviesto not feature Max Rockatansky, save forMax’s short cameo inFuriosa. It was also the second film in the franchise to recast a main character, after Anya Taylor-Joy took over the role from Charlize Theron. One of the waysFuriosachangedMad Maxhistory actually saw it breakThe Road Warrior’s rule.
Prior toMad Max: Fury Road,The Road Warriorwas almost indisputably the best film in the franchise.The Road Warriorwas better than the originalMad Max, and it introduced several of the most iconic things that the franchise is now known for, from the apocalyptic world to the outrageous costumes its characters wore. SinceThe Road Warriorholds such a coveted place inMad Max, it’s surprising thatFuriosabroke one of its oldest rules, but the newest film did so anyway, 44 years later.
Ever since 1982, whenThe Road Warriorwas released, each installment ofMad Maxhas been essentially a standalone movie.Despite being a sequel,The Road Warriordidn’t actually require viewers to have seenMad Maxfirst. Audiences didn’t need to know why Max went mad in the first place or what he did before he started wandering the Wasteland to understand that he was a broken and slightly insane man.The Road Warriorsimply picks up in the middle of Max’s story and lets the audience glean information about Max as the movie continues.
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AfterThe Road Warriorset the precedent of not requiring previous knowledge of the franchise to understand new movies, the rest ofMad Maxran with it.BothMad Max: Beyond ThunderdomeandMad Max: Fury Roadstart off in a similar way toThe Road Warrior, where they instantly introduced newcomers to both Max and the apocalypse. Audiences could basically pick up any of the fourMad Maxmovies and watch it regardless of where it took place intheMad Maxtimeline. It wasn’t untilFuriosathatMad Maxrequired viewers to have seen the previous movies to understand the newest installment.
Because it relied onFury Roadto explain some of the basic parts of its world and characters,Furiosawas the firstMad Maxfilm that didn’t function as a standalone movie.
SinceFuriosais a direct prequel toMad Max: Fury Road, it doesn’t spend much time introducing returning characters and elements from the earlier movie.If someone who hadn’t seenFury Roadfirst watchedFuriosa, they’d likely be confused bywho Immortan Joe is, what Gastown and the Citadel are, and many of the peculiarities surrounding the War Boys. Because it relied onFury Roadto explain some of the basic parts of its world and characters,Furiosawas the firstMad Maxfilm that didn’t function as a standalone movie.
Even though they keptFuriosafrom being a standalone movie, the film’s connections toFury Roadactually made it better.There are so many parts ofFuriosathat feel like a love letter to fans ofFury Road. Seeing the iconicMad MaxvillainImmortan Joe again was a treat, getting more insight into the Bullet Farm and learning how Furiosa came to work at the Citadel was fascinating, and finding outhow Furiosa lost her armwas absolutely priceless.Furiosaadded so much backstory and character development to her story that it actually ended up retroactively makingFury Roadeven better, which seemed impossible.
Having so many deep references and connections toFury Roadwasn’t completely an advantage, though. WhenFury Roadcame out in 2015, it only made about $380 million (viaBox Office Mojo). Even though it’s become a cult classic and is widely regarded as one of thebest action movies of the 2010s,Fury Roaddidn’t attract a huge number of viewers.Furiosatook a massive gamble by requiring its viewers to see a movie that was only a moderate success at the box office, and it drastically limited its audience by being a direct prequel toFury Road.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Ending Explained
Furiosa ends in a way that ties up the title character’s storyline, relaying her origins. We break down the biggest moments from Furiosa’s ending.
Unfortunately forFuriosa, that gamble didn’t pay off. Infamously,Furiosabombed at the box office, and secured just $173 million against a budget of $168 million.There were several factors that went intoFuriosa’s box office failure, but the fact that it limited its audience to viewers who had already seenFury Roadwas certainly one of them. If it had followedThe Road Warrior’s example and been a completely standalone film, there’s no telling how wellFuriosa: A Mad Max Sagacould have done at the box office.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
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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.
