Every Mad Max Film, in Order

George Miller has spent nearly half a century driving the same road, and it now runs to five films. The Mad Max saga began on the edges of Melbourne in 1979, found its true landscape in far west New South Wales two years later, detoured to Namibia for Fury Road and came home to the outback for Furiosa. Here is the order to watch them in, the order the story happens in, and the places a road trip can still reach.

In release order

1. Mad Max (1979). Mel Gibson is Max Rockatansky, a highway patrolman in a society on the brink. The National Film and Sound Archive’s Australian Screen lists its locations around Melbourne, including Port Melbourne, Williamstown, Sunbury, Kew, the University of Melbourne and the old pumping station at Scienceworks in Spotswood.
2. Mad Max 2 (1981). Released in North America as The Road Warrior, it moves Max into a full wasteland and a siege over a fuel refinery. Australian Screen describes it as “a more self-consciously mythic film than its predecessor.” According to the Silverton village website, it was “filmed around Broken Hill and Silverton (Mundi Mundi Lookout) in 1981.”
3. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). Gibson’s final turn as Max, co-directed by Miller and George Ogilvie, with Tina Turner as Aunty Entity, ruler of Bartertown, and its gladiatorial dome.
4. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). Tom Hardy takes over as Max, with Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa, in what is essentially one long chase. A Monash University analysis by Melanie Ashe notes the production was planned for Broken Hill but moved to Namibia after heavy rain in 2011 left the area “too green.”
5. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024). Anya Taylor-Joy plays the young Furiosa opposite Chris Hemsworth and Tom Burke. Screen NSW announced that the Kennedy Miller Mitchell production would be made in Western Sydney and regional NSW, and Monash’s Ashe writes that it was “shot on location in far west New South Wales near Broken Hill.”

In story order

Miller has never treated the timeline as strict continuity, so think of this as the order of events rather than a rulebook:

1. Mad Max: Max loses his family and his job, and the old world falls away.
2. Mad Max 2: Max, now a drifter, helps a refinery compound escape.
3. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome: Max, older, is drawn into Bartertown and the Thunderdome.
4. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga: Furiosa’s years in the wasteland, ending where the next film begins.
5. Mad Max: Fury Road: Furiosa’s escape from the Citadel, with Max along for the ride.

Newcomers can start with Fury Road and lose almost nothing; the films are built to stand alone. Completists should watch in release order and save Furiosa for last, so its ending lands as a hand-off rather than a spoiler.

Where the wasteland is real

Silverton, NSW. A short drive northwest of Broken Hill, the old mining village is the heart of Mad Max 2 country. The Mad Max 2 Museum, at 9 Stirling Street, was built by English couple Adrian and Linda Bennett, who moved to the outback to run it, according to Destination NSW. Inside: photographs, life-sized costumed characters and “original and replica vehicles, including two Interceptors.” The Silverton village website lists hours as Wednesday to Saturday 10am to 4pm and Sunday 11am to 3pm, closed Monday and Tuesday, and advises anyone making a special trip to contact the museum first, particularly over holidays and summer.

Mundi Mundi Lookout. A few minutes past Silverton, the plain falls away to the horizon. This is the country Max drove across in 1981; go for the late afternoon light, carry water, and stay on the road.

Broken Hill. The city at the centre of Mad Max 2 and Furiosa country, and the practical base for visitors, with fuel, accommodation and flights.

Melbourne. The first film’s suburban wastelands have mostly become ordinary suburbs again, but Scienceworks in Spotswood, the former pumping station that served as a location, is open to the public as a museum.

Namibia. Fury Road‘s desert lies far beyond a weekend drive. Monash’s account notes the production’s move to the Namib after the 2011 rains.

Where to watch

• Mad Max, Mad Max 2 and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome: check digital stores such as Apple TV and Prime Video for rental or purchase; subscription availability rotates, so check local services.
• Mad Max: Fury Road and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (Warner Bros.): check digital stores for rental or purchase; check HBO Max in Australia and the US for subscription streaming.
• In person: the Mad Max 2 Museum, Silverton, NSW, open Wednesday to Sunday.

Sources

• National Film and Sound Archive, Australian Screen: Mad Max (1979) locations
• National Film and Sound Archive, Australian Screen: Mad Max 2 (1981)
• Destination NSW (Visit NSW): Mad Max 2 Museum
• Silverton village website: Mad Max 2 Museum
• Screen NSW: Mad Max prequel Furiosa to be filmed in NSW
• Monash Lens (Monash University): What Mad Max films tell us about filming in the Australian desert, 23 May 2024