According to Hollywood writer Drew McWeeny, Warner Bros’ 2015 Mad Max game may indeed be canon, judging from his reading of the script for upcoming blockbuster Furiosa. While seemingly a small detail, this adds yet another battle scar to perhaps the most peculiar IP battles within the Mad Max franchise.
Drew McWeeny – known for his work as both a critic and a writer over the years – posted on Twitter that he had read the script for the upcoming Furiosa film over the Christmas holidays. He made note of his excitement to see the film, but also that the notes on the script apparently “make it clear the MAD MAX video game is canon.”
This on its own is a cool detail for Mad Max fans, especially those who played the 2015 cult classic. Developed by Avalanche Studios and Warner Bros, it was a half-decent and unoffensive 3rd person action game that nonetheless won a lot of people over (myself included) with its faithfulness to the Mad Max world. There was a good reason for that – it was developed using concepts that George Miller himself created.
Therein lies the source of a deep-rooted debate. George Miller had reportedly been trying to get a Mad Max video game out there for years. According to an incredibly in-depth video from Youtuber Mad Max Bible, this included a game co-written with Corey Balrog back in 2008 that was tragically cancelled by Warner Bros. Eventually, Avalanche Studios would create their own Mad Max game that would make use of years of stories, art, and characters.
Mad Max Bible in the video linked above claims to have reached out to several figures involved in Fury Road, and states that those he talked to informed him that the game was in fact not canon. That was six years ago, however what is perhaps more interesting is the fact that the Mad Max game may even spoil Furiosa. We’ll keep things vague, but if you want to go in completely blind, spoiler warning ahead.
Spoiler warning
Throughout Mad Max 2015, you learn a lot about a certain character called Dr Dementus. If that name rings a bell, it’s because that’s the name of the character played by Chris Hemsworth in the upcoming Furiosa film. In-game descriptions of what he does and what happens to him aren’t exactly vague – and since the game was created with concepts from Miller and Co’s work on the Fury Road setting over the course of 15 years – it’s possible that those familiar with this info from the game will see it play out in Furiosa when it releases later this year.
In terms of what else could be spoiled by the game, its antagonist is yet another one of Immortan Joe’s kids, so perhaps that’ll come up. But if you wanna play it safe, stay away from the game until the film is released! This all appears to be a tragic problem with what sounds like a truly slick idea – to have all Mad Max media interconnect into each other. If the Fury Road games didn’t run into as many issues, perhaps awkward spoilery issues like these wouldn’t have popped up.
So there we have it, a cool new detail and a dip back into the history of Mad Max games. Are you worried at all about game spoilers for Furiosa, or are you safe in the knowledge that the film will excite regardless of what you go in knowing? Let us know below!