Which Mad Max movies do you need to see before Furiosa?

With the long-awaited release of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the overall Mad Max franchise has once again been thrust into the mainstream spotlight. The series started its engine way back in 1979 with director George Miller’s Mad Max. Since then, it has become a multimedia juggernaut recognized the world over and beloved for its unique look and many weird and wild characters.

At the same time, just because it has a colorful cast and a sprawling world doesn’t mean the Mad Max franchise is perfect. The lore and overall timeline is a bit confusing, and there’s a lot of ground to cover with ancillary media like novels, video games, and comics. Therefore, it can appear daunting for those new to Miller’s post-apocalyptic creation.

If you’re one of those newcomers who was beckoned by the chaotic, action-packed Furiosa but doesn’t want to watch every single Mad Max movie in order to prepare, here’s what you should watch at the very least before checking out Miller’s latest creation.

Mad Max: Fury Road makes for a good starting point

Released in 2015, Mad Max: Fury Road is a hard-hitting, visually-stunning watch. It centers on Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), who gets swept up in a feud between the vile ruler of the Citadel, Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), and Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron). This marks her first appearance in the Mad Max series, and between the action, drama, and worldbuilding the film brings, it’s quite an impressive one. After all, it got Hideo Kojima to go see it four times.

In terms of the Mad Max timeline, Fury Road takes place years after Furiosa, so there’s an argument to be made that it should be saved for after a Furiosa screening. However, giving it a watch first can make Furiosa a more interesting viewing. Knowing the title character and who she ultimately becomes ahead of time adds a layer of intrigue to her origin story. It can be rewarding to know her final form and watch what she goes through to reach it. Think witnessing Anakin Skywalker’s journey to become Darth Vader in the Star Wars prequels decades after the completion of the original trilogy.

Not to mention, if you’re a bit unsure if what you’re getting into stylistically with Furiosa is for you, Fury Road is similar in aesthetic and tone. It can act as a good primer in that regard as well. If you like what Fury Road has to offer and want more, then you can go scratch that itch with Furiosa afterward.

The original Mad Max trilogy is optional

There’s no denying the pop culture influence and overall science fiction awesomeness of the original Mad Max trilogy. Mad Max, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome are all worth a watch decades after their premieres, and Mel Gibson’s rendition of Max Rockatansky remains iconic. With that said, these movies aren’t all that essential to one’s viewing of Furiosa.

The main reason why you can watch Furiosa without having seen the Mad Max trilogy is time. Furiosa and Fury Road are set in the mid-21st century, with the original trilogy spanning the mid-1980s to somewhere between the late 1990s to the early 2000s. These sets of films are so far apart chronologically and their casts are so radically different that, in terms of the core narrative, passing on the trilogy won’t impact your understanding of Furiosa much at all.

The original trilogy may not be related to Furiosa at all

Then again, what if you simply want to learn as much about the lore of this universe as possible? Well, you might still be better off skipping the trilogy, or looking at it as its own entity. Whether the first three Mad Max movies truly are in the same continuity as Furiosa and Fury Road remains a hot topic. Miller hasn’t shared a concrete verdict, and fans continue to debate if Gibson and Hardy are the same Max, if they’re related, or if the name is more of a mantle passed from person to person.

All of that is to say that ahead of Furiosa, you could watch all of the existing Mad Max movies to prepare if you so desire. If you’re seeking narrative cohesion and nothing more, though, your best bet is to stick with Fury Road alone. It ties in the closest to Furiosa, forming a highly entertaining duology with it.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is now playing exclusively in theaters.