When is Furiosa set? Mad Max timeline explained

The first trailer for new Mad Max film Furiosa has been unveiled, meaning we now know more about the movie’s timeline, and when the Fury Road prequel is set.

The Mad Max saga kicked off in 1979 with the first Mad Max movie, which was followed by Mad Max 2 (or The Road Warrior if you live in the States) in 1981, and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome in 1985. All three films starred Mel Gibson as the title character, and told a pretty straightforward and linear story.

In 2015 – some 30 years later – writer-director George Miller returned to the franchise, for prequel Mad Max: Fury Road, in which Tom Hardy replaced Gibson. And Charlize Theron’s Furiosa was the lead as much as Max.

Now that character takes center stage in a prequel to Fury Road, simply titled Furiosa.

When is Furiosa set? Mad Max timeline explained

The Furiosa trailer states that the movie begins “45 years after the collapse,” in reference to the event that plunged humanity back into the dark ages that we see across the franchise. While during a convention in Brazil this week, the filmmakers revealed that Furiosa starts 15 years before the events of the previous movie.

The above trailer begins when the character is a little girl, with Furiosa charting the Imperator’s journey, from the moment she is taken from her family, through her encounters with villain Dementus, up to the time Furiosa emerges in Mad Max: Fury Road.

Anyay Taylor Joy plays the title character in the new movie, Chris Hemsworth is Dementus, while support comes from Alyla Browne and Tom Burke in as-yet-unspecified roles.

What is Furiosa about?

Here’s the official synopsis for the movie: “As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus.  Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe.  While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.”

George Miller again directs, from a script that he co-wrote with Nico Lathouris, while Guy Norris is the stunt co-ordinator.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga hits screens on May 24, 2023, and you can read more about the movie here, while fan reaction to the trailer can be found here.