George Miller Approached Furiosa Differently Than Every Other Mad Max Sequel

Speaking to The Guardian, Miller recognized that he made the choice to make “Furiosa” simply because it seemed to make total sense. According to the director, the other movies that focused on Max Rockatansky were “happy accidents or sudden arrivals.” They weren’t necessarily planned out in advance. “It’s like John Lennon says: life is what happens when you’re making other plans,” Miller said. “I have all kinds of other plans. But somehow I keep going back to Mad Max.”

Indeed, the first two “Mad Max” sequels came about after rather unpredictable circumstances. Miller decided to make “Road Warrior” after being courted by Hollywood studios, as an attempt to see what he could do with more resources. Then, for “Beyond Thunderdome,” it was the sudden and tragic death of Miller’s producing partner Bryon Kennedy that inspired Miller to go into production as a means to distract himself from the grief. And even then, he’s admitted he can’t remember much of the experience of shooting that movie due to his grieving. 

Even “Fury Road” came as a relative accident. According to Miller, he came up with an idea that made him excited to return to the Wasteland way back in 1998. He came up with the idea while on a plane from Los Angeles to Australia, conceiving the idea of a story where marauders fought not for fuel or resources, but for human beings.