One of the big talking points around Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga it's that George Miller and his co-writers had so much material Mad Max: Fury Roadin the form of backstories and character biographies, that all furious it had been written before Fury Road even filmed. This is naturally incredibly impressive. What's more impressive is that it's true, and we have quantifiable proof. In 2015, Avalanche Studios and Warner Bros. Interactive they launched a video game of Mad Max with apparently tenuous connections with Fury Road. However, a lot of this material actually came from the plenum furious bible
The game Mad Max It seems to take place just before the events of Fury Road. It begins with Max (aka you, the player) being attacked by War Boys and the Interceptor stolen. Max fights an all-powerful warlord who runs Gas Town. Even though Max has a chainsaw to his head, the warlord survives. Max then has to build a new car with the help of Blackfinger (master mechanic) named Chumbucket.
I've played the game four times, most recently in the past few weeks after seeing an early screening of furious. I knew the game's story came from some of Miller's notes, but I didn't expect there to be so many characters and events from the game in furious. When viewed in isolation, the game seems unrelated beyond the name and some basics. After furiousit feels like Mad Max the game is the prequel Fury Road from Max's point of view after all.
Gastown
First Main Point: Gastown is the location of the final objective of the game. As you and Chumbucket scavenge across the dunes and wastelands, you know you'll eventually have to make it to Gastown to retrieve your Interceptor. Chumbucket calls Max “Saint” and refers to the car you build as the “Magnum Opus”, but to Max, it's just a car for now.
Gastown is one of the locations discussed in Fury Roadbut it is an important location furious. Dr. Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) and the biker gang lay siege to Gastown and take it over, killing the brother of Immortan Joe, the former ruler of the refinery, in the process. The Gastown a furious it looks a lot like the game's location, including the gates and various winding roads surrounding the refinery itself.
scrotum
The main villain of the Mad Max The gang is Scabrous Scrotus, who we learn in the game is one of Immortan Joe's sons. In Mad Max: Fury Road we only see Rictus Erectus and Corpus Colossus, so you can imagine that Scrotus is just a character created for the game. But no! In furious, while we don't see Corpus Colossus, we do see Scrotus next to Rictus. Scrotus here is played by Josh Helman, who played War Boy Slit Fury Road.
Scrotus in the movie is very different in appearance and attitude than in the game. The movie has him a bit smarter and more cunning than his fat, goofy brother Rictus. The game's Scrotus is basically a clone of Rictus. Another sub-boss, Stank Gum, looks a bit more like the Scrotus from the movie. This was almost 10 years ago, so maybe the original idea for Scrotus was more like Rictus. Things can change.
Really, in the game, you only see Scrotus for one scene at the beginning and the final boss fight. However, his name and influence are everywhere. All of the War Boys and War Rigs that Max destroys in the game are from Scrotus. It is clear, after the fact of furious, Scrotus was given the opportunity to rule Gas Town. At the time of Fury Road, is the acolyte of Joe, the Man-Eater, who runs it. Scrotus dies at the end of the game, which explains why he is nowhere to be found Fury Road.
Chumbucket
Chumbucket is the player's companion character in the game. Talk a lot (like A LOT) while also fixing your car on the fly and firing the harpoon during car combat. Chumbucket makes up for Max's more stoic demeanor in the game nicely, and has a pretty sad arc. We learn from his dialogue that he used to be a Gas Town Blackfinger, but left after “seeing the light” of Angel Combustion.
In furious, towards the end, Furiosa builds herself a prosthetic arm and wants a vehicle to go after Dementus. She asks if anyone has a car, although people who aren't part of the war party in the Citadel shouldn't have one. Suddenly, a boy says he's building a car and discovers a small, shabby buggy that looks like it's falling apart.
I wasn't sure, but I had an interesting feeling. I checked the end credits and sure enough an actor is credited “Chumbucket”, and it was indeed that character. Exciting is the only word for it.
Dr. demented
Again, spoiler alert for furiousbut Dementus doesn't last long Fury Road. He is Furiosa's nemesis, not Max's. As such, I didn't think I'd find Dementus anywhere else. However, we do get a reference to him in the game, which I only noticed in my post-screening playthrough.
Throughout the game, you get small quests from various NPCs that lead you into the wasteland. They often include finding vehicles or supplies or what have you. One such quest, given to Max by Hope, the closest thing the game has to a heroine, takes Max to the southernmost part of the map. He tells Max that he will find a car designed to honor one of the Biker Lords of Old. She mentions the name “Dr. D”, and when you find the car, it has a motorcycle on the roof with a skeleton mounted on it. The name of the car is “Demented Chariot”.
This was the coolest Easter egg I have ever made. It's such a small and inconsequential part of the game's story, and even that uses the bible lore of Miller's universe. Dementus in the movie literally rides a chariot made of motorcycles. And of course, this is the exact car Dementus drives towards the end furious. To find this car, in a video game, nine years before the movie was even made, was amazing.
Mad Max It's not the best video game in the world, but it's one I come back to again and again. Now knowing that it really is part of the bigger story, I encourage others to go check it out. Or play it again!
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor at Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture dive Laser Focus podcast. You can find yours film and television reviews here. follow him Instagram i Mailbox d.
