Summary
- The prequel film is packed with Easter Eggs and callbacks to earlier entries, making it endlessly re-watchable.
- Familiar vehicles like the War Rig and V8 Interceptor make a return alongside humble, repurposed VW beetle war machines.
- The film includes nods to the Mad Max video game, with characters like Scrotus and Chumbucket making appearances in the prequel.
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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is, like most Mad Max films, dripping with small details and Easter Eggs that make it infinitely re-watchable. A prequel to the events of Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga establishes Furiosa’s lengthy history as an abductee, mechanic, stowaway, and road warrior. Like every movie in the Mad Max franchise, the film is packed with plenty of fun features and callbacks to earlier entries that are only readily apparent at a second glance.
Many of these small quirks go a long way to building the world of Mad Max, subtly presenting a loose collection of dots for expectant fans to connect themselves. Others are more meta, directly expanding the lore of the wider wasteland with the inclusion of certain locations and characters in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga‘s cast. Whatever the case, director George Miller continues to outdo himself by sprinkling a breadcrumb trail of visual storytelling throughout the background of his latest post-apocalyptic story.
10 VW’s Classic Cars Are Turned Into War Machines
Not every wasteland vehicle has a fearsome origin
It wouldn’t be a Mad Max movie without some incredible new vehicles cobbled together from the ashes of the previous world, and the cars of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga are no exception. The prequel brings back some significant vehicles from the previous film, including an earlier version of the War Rig, Immortan Joe’s Gigahorse, and Max’s own prized V8 Interceptor. Meanwhile, original vehicles are fashioned from impressive remnants of pre-apocalypse technology, such as monster trucks and aircraft engines.
However, some wasteland vehicles are far humbler in origin, with the ubiquitous commuter cars of Volkswagen being fashioned into deadly war machines. A classic 60s beetle can be spotted among the bikes of Dementus’ gang, serving as some sort of pursuit vehicle. Later, the group that Dementus catches up to and forces to fight each other are seen driving a rig fashioned from a VW bus, later brought under the gang’s ownership.
9 The Wasteland’s Naming Conventions Are Less Than Subtle
George Miller knows how to craft a great name
Part of the inherent weirdness of the Mad Max movies comes from the bizarre names of the wasteland’s fearsome denizens. Titles like Dementus, Furiosa, and Immortan Joe sound impressive enough, but some characters are given less than flattering monikers which they nevertheless wear proudly. The most eyebrow-raising of these include Rictus Erectus and Scabrous Scrotus, the phallic designations of Immortan Joe’s two most bloodthirsty sons, whom he casually introduces.
But the villains aren’t the only ones to get some questionable names. The name of Furiosa’s very tribe, the Vuvalini, has something of a yonic tint to it, clearly playing off the overly-masculine ambitions of Immortan’s son’s names. Either way, creative names with strange fixations like this stand out far more than the few characters who use simple real-world names like Max, Praetorian Jack, and Mary Jabassa, Furiosa’s mother.
8 Scrotus And Chumbucket Come Back From The Mad Max Video Game
Avalanche Studios’ little known game is now canon to the series
Custom Image by Alfredo Alvarado
With a name that’s hard to forget, the introduction of Scrotus in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga begs the question as to what happened to him by the events of Mad Max: Fury Road, being nowhere to be seen in the next chronological film. The answer to Scrotus’ whereabouts comes in the surprising form of the Mad Max video game, developed by Avalanche Studios, which came out soon after the release of Mad Max: Fury Road. In the game, Scrotus serves as the primary antagonist, although he looks quite different.
Bridging the gap between Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Mad Max: Fury Road, the appearance of Scrotus seems to confirm the Mad Max game as canon. Immortan Joe’s son isn’t the only character to appear in both titles, either. Max’s mechanic sidekick in the game, Chumbucket, also gets a brief appearance, being the one to excitedly tell Furiosa he has a vehicle for her, only to present her with a barely-running frame. This mirrors the eccentric character’s introduction in the game, and his name in the credits confirms him as being one and the same.
7 Furiosa Learns How To Lose Pursuers In A Sandstorm
The prequel film shows where Furiosa got her Fury Road ideas
One of the most breathtaking sequences in Mad Max: Fury Road is the moment in which Furiosa descends into a hellish sandstorm in order to shake off her pursuers. By driving headfirst into a dangerous sandstorm, she not only breaks line of sight on her War Rig, but literally covers her tracks as the loose earth of the Australian outback whips around. In Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, it’s finally revealed where she got the idea to do so from, being inspired by her mother.
After reuniting with her daughter in Dementus’ camp, Mary Jabassa rides with her in a motorbike straight through the cover of a violent sandstorm, nearly losing her pursuers. If it wasn’t for an unfortunate injury leaving a trail of blood for Dementus to follow, it’s likely that she could’ve completely escaped. Other than inspiring Furiosa to use the same tactic later on the Fury Road, the re-appearance of a sandstorm helps put into context the disastrous state of the wasteland’s climate, with the storms having escalated in scale by the time of Mad Max: Fury Road.
6 Max’s Interceptor Gets Another On-Screen Appearance
A cameo from Max himself goes a long way
One small moment in Furiosa: A Mad Max saga that may have surprised expectant fans was the appearance of Max himself, however brief. Being a prequel seemingly set before Max happened upon the mad world of the Citadel, his small cameo staring at the stranded Furiosa from the safety of a cliffside overlook was a welcome detail. All the better that he got to appear alongside his trusty signature car, the Ford Falcon V8 Interceptor.
First appearing in the original Mad Max film, the Interceptor has come a long way from its humble origins as a experimental police car. In Mad Max: Fury Road, the vehicle is wrecked, re-built, and destroyed again, making its most recent appearance in all its old glory all the more satisfying. Max’s cameo in Furiosa: A Mad Max saga could very well be the last time the classic V8 Interceptor is ever seen on-screen.
5 The Intro Uses Real Nuclear Test Footage
Furiosa sells the danger of Mad Max’s post-apocalypse
The brief prologue and narration featured throughout Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga gives more context then ever about the actual details surrounding the fall of civilization in Mad Max’s world. Rather than being a single catastrophic event that upended society, the wasteland seems to be the result of a multitude of disasters, including an oil crisis, a water shortage, disease, pestilence, and finally, nuclear war. This is confirmed by the use of actual nuclear test footage in the film’s prologue.
Showing trees bending in the wake of a nuclear explosion, the brief glimpses of footage in the prologue can be attributed to an atomic test in the Yucca Flat drainage basin in Nevada performed in 1953. Furiosa: A Mad Max saga is far from the only piece of media to use stock footage of nuclear tests in this way, with even series as lighthearted as the cartoon Spongebob Squarepants using similar archival video. Of course, George Miller’s choice to include it works as a testament to the ruined state of Furiosa’s world.
4 The History Man References The Mad Max Comic
The profession solidifies the comic’s place in Mad Max continuity
Like the 2015 video game, the tie-in comic to Mad Max: Fury Road of the same name seems to be confirmed as canon by the presence of a History Man. Established in the comic as a sort of sect or almost religious order, the History Men and History Women preserve knowledge of the previous world by intricately tattooing it upon themselves, turning into walking dictionaries. By memorizing as much vast quantities of information as possible, they become capable of dispensing “Word Burgers”, a catch-all term for definitions and stories.
Dementus keeps a History Man or retainer as part of his closest circle in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, being one of the few members of his gang to earn a position of privilege through means other than violence. However, the teacher of Immortan Joe’s wives from Mad Max: Fury Road, Miss Giddy, may also be a History Woman, being similarly covered in lines and lines of fine tattooed writing. The presence of these figures seems to canonize the prequel comic into the Mad Max timeline.
3 Every Prop Is A Recycled Bit Of Junk
Nothing in the Mad Max movies is custom made
Image via Warner Bros.
One of the most ingenious design principles the incredible art department of the Mad Max films have continued to stick to is the use of recycled objects. No prop, costume, or vehicle in any of the films is custom-made, with each tiny gizmo being assembled from whatever pieces of junk or scrap metal the films’ producers could get their hands on. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is no exception to this rule, with some of the most creative uses of recycled materials yet.
Furiosa’s mother, Mary Jabassa, uses what appears to be the gear of a motorbike chain as a slingshot, firing ball bearings with deadly force. Earlier, she clips a tank of gas to a disabled bike using an airplane seat belt. The Doof Warrior’s briefly-pictured bass guitar is also shown to be constructed from a hospital bedpan. Even human remains aren’t off the table for practical use, with one of Furiosa’s abductors wearing a helmet fashioned from a skull, and later restraining a child Furiosa with a cable knit together with vertebrae.
2 “Praetorian” Is Explained As A Title, Not A Name
Immortan Joe clearly styles himself as a Roman emperor
Perhaps the only true ally Furiosa comes to know during her time at the Citadel is Tom Burke’s Praetorian Jack, who teaches Furiosa all there is to know about road war. Like many of the denizens of the Mad Max series’ wasteland, Praetorian Jack at first appears to be yet another catchy name to help distinguish the notable character. However, it’s revealed that “Praetorian” is more of a title than a simple nickname, one that briefly gets passed to Furiosa.
While serving alongside him officially under Immortan Joe’s command, Furiosa also gains the title of Praetorian, being introduced as much by some of Joe’s War Boys. The original meaning of Praetorian referred to the most esteemed warriors of the Roman Empire who closely guarded the emperor in his personal life. Perhaps Immortan Joe himself came up with this title to give to only his most esteemed warriors. By Mad Max: Fury Road, however, Furiosa seems to have replaced it with the title “Imperator.”
1 Gas Town’s Painting References Immortan Joe’s Control Of Water
A clever, subtle nod to the tyrant’s trade of choice
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga gives the first look at Gastown’s original leader, a thoughtful-looking man possibly related to Immortan Joe due to his similar hair. He is first seen working on an elaborate re-creation of a painting, working from a book. This painting is later defaced by Dementus’ gang when they take over Gas Town, but thematically echoes Immortan Joe’s control over the Citadel and the Mad Max series’ very themes of resource control and survival.
Titled Hylas and the Nymphs, the painting was originally created in 1869 by John William Waterhouse. The scene reflects a moment from Greco-Roman legend in which the youth Hylas is abducted by water Nymphs while searching for drinking water. Of course, this reflects the predicament the wretched inhabitants of the Citadel find themselves in, trapped by Immortan Joe’s control over the only clean water in the wasteland. This Easter Egg is perhaps one of the most clever details in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.