Been seeing a lot of misinterpretation and misinformation with regards to Furiosa, so I wanted to address just a few things I've seen going around in one place that people on here can easily refer to.
Is Furiosa replacing Max as the focus of the franchise going forward?
No. Furiosa is a prequel that's been in the works since it was originally conceived of as an anime in the 2000s until that eventually fell through. There will be no shift towards her character being the singular focus of the franchise.
Why didn't we just get a sequel with Max?
There is at least one Max story, The Wasteland, that is planned to be turned into a future project after Furiosa. It will take place between Furiosa and Fury Road. Miller just wanted to tell Furiosa's story first.
Why aren't we seeing any sign of Tom Hardy?
Despite the fact that Max may be showing up in Furiosa in some capacity, not to mention the fact that the character will obviously be the focus of the The Wasteland, Tom Hardy is likely not returning to play Max. This is in part due to his behavior on the set of Fury Road which has left Miller and co. unlikely to work with him again. He did sign on for two other projects, but at this point his reappearance is incredibly doubtful.
Who will play Max going forward?
At this point we don't know who will be carrying on the mantle of Max Rockatansky, but once we get to production on The Wasteland we'll undoubtedly get some answers. Miller is an unconventional storyteller, and so a James Bond approach to Max himself seems probable, with different actors portraying the same individual across various media.
Given that Furiosa takes place 45 years after The Fall, is Max the Feral Kid?
No. Max is the same person from the original trilogy.
Is George Miller riding the modern wave of doing prequels, reboots, etc. in order to cash in on a character that people loved in Fury Road?
Fury Road was the result of two decades of development from George Miller's initial idea of the story while standing on a sidewalk in 1996. After the initial version of the film which was supposed to star Mel Gibson as an older version of Max (to tie more directly into the period of time after Beyond Thunderdome) fell through due to the Iraq War and financial struggles, the surrounding lore of Fury Road was expanded significantly. This resulted in the creation of two other scripts which became the basis for Furiosa and The Wasteland, respectively. Taken together, Furiosa, The Wasteland, and Fury Road represent one singular trilogy tying Miller's modern iteration of Mad Max together. As a result, Furiosa is hardly some unrelated prequel banking on modern perceptions of how much people liked Furiosa-it was simply a story that was always meant to be told. The same goes for The Wasteland, which is the second chapter in what can be considered the "Fury Road Trilogy." The Wasteland itself was meant to be a video game developed as a collaboration between George Miller and Cory Barlog (the man behind the modern God Of War games), but this was something that never happened. Instead, Avalanche Studios released a game in 2015 which liberally borrowed from Miller's mythos in ways that he expressly did not want them to. As a result he distanced himself from the project and has disavowed his connection to it. It appears that there is now talk of turning The Wasteland into a TV show, but we'll have to wait and see for more confirmation on this.
Why aren't we getting Charlize Theron in Furiosa?
George Miller didn't want to use de-aging tech on this film because he thought it wasn't convincing enough.
Immortan Joe and co.?
We will be getting a good bit of a younger Immortan Joe, although to my knowledge it's still uncertain as to who's playing him. His conflict with Dementus is going to play a key role in the story of the film. Nathan Jones will be returning as Rictus Erectus, along with Angus Sampson as the Organic Mechanic. Quentin Kenihan obviously couldn't reprise his role as Corpus Colossus due to the fact that he unfortunately passed away in 2018.
Is the pacing/storytelling going to be similar to Fury Road?
Furiosa is a movie that takes place over the course of 15 years and involving multiple road wars and various other events which is going to make its storytelling significantly different to Fury Road. Whereas that narrative had one large chase stringing together all of its components, Furiosa will be vastly larger in scale and scope.
When a character isn’t “evil enough” so the writer(s) make them a creep, or even worse, let’s make them force themselves on someone!
See: Funny Valentine from JJBA, Rictus Erectus from Mad Max, Nivellen from The Witcher…
Like… isn’t there another way to make the audience understand that we have a villain here… do we always have to resort to extremes… especially when you really like a character and then bam, “they’re a r*pist btw” bomb is dropped. Like can you not 😭
From Romans to Rectums: Thoughts on the Naming Convention in Mad Max
I think it’s fascinating how that meme about how often men think about the roman empire is materialized in the mad max world in different forms, but especially in their bastardized-latin naming convention. In my mind, it appears that post apocalyptic warlords were aware that modern society looked up to the roman empire, but they didn’t quite understand how the romans influenced us exactly. Nevertheless, the warlords (or their history men) did have access to niche knowledge such as ancient roman military strategy, enough to inspire the imperator and praetorian warrior position names. It’s as if the first history men did not keep any pre modern history on their skins, so they had to reduce the entire roman empire into fragments of ideals (for oral tradition). Such fragments of ideals would combine in weird ways to inspire these war-men to write the most beautifully grotesque poems that are their names.
In a world where words have more power, names are more than just biographical micro-poems, they are multi-used as tools as well. They could be guns pointed to your face like “People Eater” and “Toe-Cutter”, a quality seal of approval on a product like “Capable” and “Splendid”, an aggressive dog warning sign like “Furiosa” and “Mad Max”, and even a prayer amulet as in “Corpus Colossus”.
As a trend among warlords, a wacky wrestling stage name is a must for a strong branding. After all, the ferocious marketing of late capitalism and show business did not die with the atomic bomb, but rather thrived, mutated, and embraced nature, believe it or not. Darwin’s nature, not you tree-huggers’ nature.
The names of the two capable immortan brothers Rictus Erectus and Scabrous Scrotus reveal the real underlying obsession of all men: the penis. The penis is the axis mundi around which all revolves in the (mad max) world. But more than just about sex, the penis cult is about finding strength and courage in a hypermasculine god to mentally survive in a hypermasculine hell. In this context, the names of Immortan Joe's sons take on a deeper significance. Firstly, Rictus Erectus translates to something like grin and erection, as if Immortan Joe had hopped for a future full of pleasures for his son. It is also a very verbal wish for an offspring who can physically stand up by himself and for himself. Unlike his disabled brother Corpus Colossus, who received a magnificent name meaning body like a giant greek god statue, in fruitless hopes that his imperfections would also grow away. Scabrous Scrotus more explicitly describes a unique physical attribute, namely some scabby nuts. Scrotus could very well be a nickname, which would parallel ancient romans who would choose a cognomen (nickname) to be known by, like Caligula meaning “little boot”, Oedipus (greek) meaning “swollen foot”, and Verrucosus meaning “warty”, for example. Better would be if Joe had named his son after his own beat-up ballsack, in which case this ode to biological reproduction against the environment would be very on brand. I bet Darwin is grinning wide, in his coffin.
It is interesting to note that most people in the recent mad max world appear to be illiterate and uncultured, so most don’t even understand the meaning of these stupid Latin names, but just that they sound as important as they say they are. That means these men who have access to nuance are really “dressing up” for each other, like an internal joke with the bois. Three brothers named to sound like roman emperors, to rule over all the erected men, by his mighty phallus.
It goes to show how colossal and monumental… the roman empire was, that it would outlast even the best of modernity. And its shadow would still loom over humans like the mysterious milky way in the night sky.
It’s a shame that Miller’s hyper-poetry is not that accessible.
“The men out there, they’re not like Vuvalini fathers. A girl to them is nothing but a body for them to use. But that’s their weakness- a weakness you can use. You let him get close, let him think he can use you at will. By the time he realizes he can’t, he’ll already be bleeding out at your feet.”
K.T. Concannon had said these words when Furiosa was eight. In the days that she’d been in the Citadel, they’d come back to her more and more.
Rictus was obsessed with her, she knew it now. By her two hundredth day in the Vault he was inventing reasons to visit, to stand too close behind her and touch her hair. On the day Aqua’s not-quite baby was born, she knew she needed to get out. She wasn’t sure how, or where she would go after, but she knew that Rictus was her key to escape.
“What do you mean, gone? Where is she?!” Immortan Joe stormed through the entrance to the Vault, his wives scattering before him. The Organic Mechanic turned from where he was putting his tools away.
“Easy, Boss, easy-”
“When was the last time you saw her?”
Organic raised his hands defensively as the warlord loomed over him. “This is the first I’ve been in here since the last birth. I come in to do the check-ups, and they’re saying she’s gone. That she’s been gone for two days.”
“Two days?!” Joe whirled on the nearest wife, a heavily pregnant woman who shrank behind Organic.
“We thought you had her,” she whimpered. “S-somebody came in the middle of the night, the night after the birth. We thought it was you-”
Joe slapped her open-handed, not hard enough to hurt the baby but enough to leave a bruised handprint. He whirled to face the Praetorians that had followed him in.
“It must’ve been him. He was out and about that night, and he’s been acting jumpy ever since.” Scrotus paced in the audience chamber. Outside in the halls, shouts and hurrying footsteps echoed as Joe’s Praetorians turned the Citadel upside down. Joe flexed his hands anxiously.
“Search it! Search every nook and cranny! Organic, stay here. If she’s hidden herself this long, she may be ill.” He seized the unfortunate woman by the hair and dragged her to her feet. “You know I did not come here that night. So tell me, who did?”
“I need to know which of my wives was complicit in this. Such treachery cannot be tolerated.”
“They weren’t complicit in anything, Dad.” Corpus Colossus fiddled with the control stick of his powered chair, causing the servos to buzz back and forth. “They hushed it up ‘cause they were afraid you’d go off on ‘em when you found out. Which you did.” Around the time the girl had arrived, Corpus’ opinion of his father’s breeding program had shifted from this is a bad idea to this is worse than I could have thought possible. Had he not been fighting a serious illness at the time, he would have spoken out at length against inducting her.
Scrotus scowled. “How did he get in and out with her if one of them wasn’t helping him? Someone has to pay!”
Rictus sat hunched over in a chair before his father and two brothers. It had taken almost half an hour to find him; when the search for the girl had started, he had tried to hide in the back of one of the store rooms.
“Rictus is a big boy,” Corpus shot back. He can get in trouble all by himself.” He turned to their father. “We need to get his side of this. You know how he is about dolls, and he’s always following the new war pups around. He may be able to tell us where she is.”
“Tell me the truth, Rictus. I won’t be angry.” Joe’s voice was as gentle as it ever got. “Did you enter my Vault two nights ago?”
“No.” Rictus stared miserably at the floor.
“They heard footsteps, someone big. If it wasn’t Dad and it wasn’t you, then who was it?” Scrotus demanded.
“I dunno!”
“Think.” Joe leaned forward, held out his hands. “You were awake at the time, many people saw you. Did you see anyone near the Vault?”
“No! Maybe- maybe it was him!” He pointed to Scrotus, who clapped a hand over his face.
“Rictus! This is serious!” Corpus snapped. “They’re searching your room as we speak. What are we gonna find in there?”
Rictus looked up in alarm. “You’re not gonna let ‘em touch my stuff? Dad, you’re not gonna let ‘em touch my stuff, are you?”
At that moment, one of the Praetorians entered.
“Sir. We found these. They were sitting out in the open in his room.”
In one hand he held a chastity belt, adjusted all the way down, the fasteners cut. In the other hand he held Rictus’ personalized bolt cutters.
Scrotus was the first to find his voice.
“What the fuck did you do?!”
“Scrotus! Shut it!” Corpus yelled. Rictus had contracted in on himself so hard he seemed to be trying to disappear into his own chest cavity.
“Enough!” Everyone fell silent at Joe’s roar. The warlord leaned forward again. “Rictus, my son. You will feel better if you tell me the truth.”
The big man’s lip wobbled. “It wasn’t my fault! I just wanted to see what it felt like. And then her hair came off, and-”
“Wait. Her hair?” Corpus rolled forward a few inches.
“Yeah! It just fell off in my hand, all of it! And then she ran off, and I couldn’t find her. I tried, Dad, I really tried!”
“Rictus.” Corpus craned his neck to meet his brother’s eye. “Where’s the hair that fell off?”
“Uhhhh…”
Joe closed his eyes in dismay. Scrotus threw up his hands.
“You believe me, right Dad? Dad?”
“Fuck’s sake!” Scrotus snapped. “We all know what you did. She’s dead, isn’t she?”
“I didn’t do anything to her!”
“Yes you did, you stupid pumpkin head, just like you did to the girl Uncle gave you, you can never keep-”
“That’s enough!” Joe shouted. Rictus, who had started to come out of his chair, promptly sat back down. “Scrotus, go help with the search.”
“But-”
“You will be more helpful assisting with the search, my son. Go.”
Scrotus groaned, but did as he was told. The Praetorian followed him out. Corpus sighed.
“Why’d you do it, Rictus? You knew better.”
“I didn’t do anything!”
“I’m disappointed in you, my son.” Joe took Rictus’ hands in his. “You may no longer go into my Vault.”
“But- when the new baby-”
“Even when the new baby is born. You may keep Corpus company instead. If your new brother is born safely, we will introduce you afterwards.” Joe stood up and turned away. Rictus stared after him, tears in his eyes.
“But Dad, I didn’t do anything!”
“C’mon, Rictus,” Corpus puffed gently. “You need to tell us where you put her.”
“She ran away from me, I don’t know where she is!”
“Come on. Walk me through it, every step of the way, and we’ll find where she is.”
“That character over in Gastown won’t be happy.” The People Eater picked his teeth with a carved bone toothpick. “He was rather fond of her, whatever she was to him.”
Rictus sniffled and got up to follow his brother’s chair. “Ok.”
Night had fallen, and the Immortan sat with his inner circle around the remains of their dinner. Corpus and Rictus were still out, trying to retrace Rictus’ steps in a way that made sense. Scrotus scratched pensively at a rash.
“What are we going to tell him?”
The People Eater chortled. “Not the truth, certainly! That’d be dropping a lit match onto relations!”
“He won’t come after her.” Joe sat back to allow a war pup to remove his plate. “Not after she turned on him. He doesn’t seem the type. But we must not allow word to get out. If it becomes known that one of my wives vanished from the security of the Vault, it will significantly cut down on willing candidates. It’s difficult enough now to convince someone to sell me a healthy full-life.”
Footsteps sounded in the entryway and they all looked up. A Praetorian stepped aside to let the Organic Mechanic pass. Joe perked up.
“Anything?”
“’Fraid not. Corpus is starting to think he just chucked her off a gantry when no one was looking. The Wretched wouldn’t have left a lot to know her by.”
A collective groan went up from the table. Joe shut his eyes.
“A healthy full-life on the verge of her child-bearing years.”
“Ah, if I may?” Organic offered. “You might not have had much luck with her anyway.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Scrotus demanded.
“Well- you know I been with her a long time, I’ve seen her grow from a pup herself. And she’s been healthy the whole way through, eating regular, no hard labor, never had a fever. And I do exams on the regular, make sure all the breeders are in good shape and healthy-”
“I’m aware,” said Joe. “What is your point?”
“My point is- most healthy full-lives at her age have started to menstruate, or are showing signs they will soon.”
“They’re doing what?” Scrotus wanted to know.
“Menstruate. You know, bleed from the crotchal regions. That’s how you know they’re ready- I mean, depending on who you ask, there’s different schools of thought. But I keep tabs on her, I keep tabs on all of ‘em, and she’s never bled. And not just that. She’s got no tits, no pubes-”
“Truly you are a paragon of good taste, Organic.” The People Eater made a disgusted face. Organic turned on him, arms akimbo.
“Speak for yourself, Fatso-”
Joe cut them off. “Are you telling me that she was not, in fact, likely to be fertile?”
“I mean, can’t tell unless we open her up, and we’re not likely to get that chance. But yeah, you probably wouldn’t even get a mutant out of her, much less a son. You really didn’t lose that much.”
Joe sat back, massaging his temples.
“I need to find a way to keep Rictus busy. He’s been getting in too much trouble lately.”
“You need to figure out what you’re going to tell Gastown, too, if they ask.” The People Eater wiped his toothpick clean on his suit and tucked it into its case. Organic shrugged.
“Just tell ‘em she got sick. It happens. She got sick, it was real fast, nothing we could do. Happens all the time.”
“Even to one of my wives?”
“Has Dementus ever seen the inside of your Vault?” Organic countered. Joe nodded thoughtfully.
“Good enough. Thank you, Organic, you’re dismissed. Scrotus, I need you to find something to put Rictus in charge of. He has too much free time.”
“Me? What’s he gonna be in charge of, he couldn’t pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were on the heel!”
“Something simple but time consuming. Scouting runs, perhaps. He’s a good enough fighter that I won’t worry.” He turned to the People Eater. “When does my war rig leave for Gastown next?”
“Seven days.”
Whether or not Dementus believed the Immortan’s story was difficult to say. He was dealing with the fallout from yet another clash between his bikers and the Gastowners, and doing it without the help of his most trusted underboss, who was, he explained, “on walkabout.” The questions asked about the little girl’s demise had been few.
“Then in seven days I will send my regrets to Dementus that the girl he brought me has died of an illness. An unfortunate episode, but one that need do no lasting harm.”
The same story was spread in the Citadel by stone-faced Praetorians in response to anyone asking what that ruckus had been about. But quietly, a different story made the rounds, whispered from war pup to blackthumb, circulating at night through the lice-ridden huddles where the treadmill fodder slept.
Vanished, right out from under his nose.
One of the brothers what did it, I heard. Hid her body in the hydroponics.
Wonder who’s next. Might be cushy, but I’d sell me girl to the maggot farmer ‘fore I sold her up there, if she was alive.
Huddled in the back, a scrawny, mute child listened to the speculation and, comforted, drifted off to sleep.
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