If Tom Hardy doesn’t return to play Max Rockatansky in a sequel toMad Max: Fury Road, one great theory about the Road Warrior can’t be confirmed. TheMad Maxfranchise has captured viewers' imaginations since it began with 1979’sMad Max. Back then, Max Rockatansky was played by Mel Gibson, and instead of the deserts and brutality the franchise is known for today, theworld ofMad Maxwas much closer to the real world. TheMad Maxfranchise has changed significantly since then, though, and there have been plenty of theories that try to explain all the franchise’s changes.
The most popularMad Maxtheories vary quite a bit in scope and likelihood. They range from theories about how the apocalypse happened to possible ways Sprog, Max’s child from the original film, could have survived his encounter with Toecutter and shown up later in the franchise. One theory in particular, however, is both very compelling, and extremely unlikely to ever be confirmed. If it was true, it would completely redefine Tom Hardy’s tenure as Max Rockatansky, butMad Maxwon’t be able to use it.
Tom Hardy Might Not Have Played Max Rockatansky; He May Have Played The Feral Kid Grown Up
ForMad Max: Fury Road, Tom Hardy became the second mainactor to play Max Rockatansky, replacing Mel Gibson in his iconic role.Aside from looking significantly different from Gibson, Hardy’s version of Max had a few key differences. Hardy preferred guttural grunts over coherent sentences, he had a completely wild look in his eye, and he often acted like a caged animal.Fury Road, however, didn’t address the switch in Max’s appearance or demeanor at all, and some fans have come up with a theory that explains why Hardy’s version of the character looks and acts so differently from Gibson’s.
Who Killed The World In Mad Max
Mad Max is set in an apocalyptic world destroyed by a nuclear war over oil resources, while Mad Max: Fury Road emphasised the fight over water.
As the theory explains, Tom Hardy’s version of Max could be a completely different person from Mel Gibson’s. InMad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Max met a child who was aptly named the Feral Kid (Emil Minty), a boy who grew up in the Wasteland and behaved like a wild animal. Some fans have drawn a connection between Max’s appearance, his wild nature inFury Road, and the amount of time that had passed since the apocalypse began, andhypothesized that Tom Hardy was actually playing a grown-up version of the Feral Kid, not Max Rockatansky.
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
Cast
The Road Warrior, aka Mad Max 2, picks up after the original 1976 film and continues following Max’s (Mel Gibson) journey through a post-apocalyptic Australia. This time, Max helps a group of locals escape bandits to protect their wealth of gasoline. George Miller again directs the Mad Max sequel and is often considered the fan-favorite of the original trilogy.
Aside from Hardy’s appearance and his more wild take on Max, there’s a surprising amount of evidence to support the Feral Kid theory. For example, by the end ofThe Road Warrior, Max had given the Feral Kid a gift: a wind-up music box.InFury Road, Max had a similar music box that was taken from him by the War Boys after he was captured. Additionally,Fury Road’s place intheMad Maxtimelinewould coincide with the Feral Kid being about Max’s age. If Tom Hardy was playing The Feral Kid instead of Max, it would completely redefineFury Road.
Hardy Doesn’t Seem Willing To Play Max Rockatansky Again
Though Tom Hardy’s take on Max was almost universally praised, he may not return to the role ever again. Very plainly,Tom Hardy addressed the possibility of returning for aMad Maxsequelby saying “I don’t think that’s happening.“Hardy had an infamously difficult time filmingFury Road. He reportedly took a method acting approach to the role that was so intense it scared the filmmakers,Hardy got into a feud with Charlize Theron on the set ofFury Road, and he reportedly had several problems with director George Miller’s methods. Those issues may be enough to keep Hardy from playing Max again.
Tom Hardy’s 5 Best Movies, Ranked
Today, Screen Rant lists the five best movies that made the most out of Tom Hardy’s uncanny screen presence.
On top of Hardy’s reservations, there are a few other reasons he may not play Max again. George Miller has previously said, while explainingwhy Mel Gibson didn’t play Max inFury Road, that he doesn’t want to tell a story about an older version of Max. Hardy is already 47 years old, and the nextMad Maxfilm is still several years away.Hardy may simply be too old, and Miller may simply want a younger actor to take his place. However, even if Hardy were likely to return to the role of Max, a sequel might not happen at all.
George Miller has also hinted at a possible prequel toMad Max: Fury Road, though Hardy would likely still be too old to play an even younger version of Max Rockatansky.
The next entry in theMad Maxfranchise,Mad Max: The Wasteland, is far from a guarantee. The most recent movie in the franchise,Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, didn’t perform nearly as well as it was expected to.Furiosa’s poor box office performance, coupled with the fact thatMad Maxhas never been a tremendously profitable franchise, may be enough to keep Miller from finding anyone willing to fundThe Wastelandfor fear of losing money.Without another Tom HardyMad Maxmovie, though, the Feral Kid theory will never be proven.
The Opportunity To Confirm The Feral Kid Theory May Have Already Past
If Tom Hardy never gets another chance to play Max Rockatansky, theMad Maxfranchise will never get a chance to reveal he was the Feral Kid all along. IfMax is recast forMad Max: The Wasteland, the sequel will likely gloss over Max’s change in appearance, just as it did inFury Road.Even if it doesn’t, though, the opportunity to confirm the Feral Kid theory will have passed. It would be exceedingly strange forThe Wastelandto essentially stop and explain who the main actor of the last film was, and it just doesn’t seem likely to happen anymore.
Though seeing the Feral Kid theory confirmed would be cool, it’s almost surely for the best thatMad Maxcan’t double down on it.George Miller views the entireMad Maxfranchise as a type of legend or folk tale, rather than an account of a real person’s life(viaNational Film and Sound Archive of Australia). It’s why he’s never concerned himself with continuity between movies, and why he’s never had a problem introducing retcons and changes. The biggest advantage of the Feral Kid theory was that it helped explain a continuity issue, but there’s no such thing as a continuity error in folklore.
Mad Max Movies In Order
There are multiple Mad Max movies that span several decades, and that creates different viewing options based on release and chronological orders.
Not only does George Miller, the mastermind and creator ofMad Max, not see a need for the Feral Kid theory, but his alternative is much more interesting. Seeing Max as a folk hero grants him an almost mythic status and adds an immense amount of texture to the people and world.In a way, the folk hero idea makes everyMad Maxfilm a window into what is important to people in the post-apocalypse. Max is their hero, and their stories about him reveal what they consider good qualities: bravery, strength, and the - often reluctant - desire to do good.
Mad Max: The Wasteland
Release Date TBA
As an additional bonus, viewing theMad Maxfranchise as a series of legends helps explain continuity errors even better than the Feral Kid theory does. If Max was a real person, all of his adventures would be extremely unlikely; a person can only cheat death so many times.If he was a folk hero, however, all of Max’s close-calls and amazing feats could simply be chalked up to embellishment for the sake of a good story. It would also explain how he got so far across the Wasteland, and how he managed to fight for almost 40 years, both before and after the apocalypse.
While Mad Max: Fury Road’s Feral Kid theory is interesting, seeing Max as a folk hero is better.
While seeing Max as a legend has a litany of benefits on its own, it also avoids a major problem with the Feral Kid theory. At the end ofMad Max 2: The Road Warrior, the Feral Kid revealed that he had grown up and become the leader of the former oil refinery inhabitants.If Tom Hardy was playing the Feral Kid inFury Road, it would have directly contradictedThe Road Warrior. Therefore, the Feral Kid theory would have created more continuity issues than it solves. WhileMad Max: Fury Road’s Feral Kid theory is interesting, seeing Max as a folk hero is better.
Source:National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
Mad Max: Fury Road
Mad Max: Fury Road is a post-apocalyptic film set in a desolate desert landscape where society has collapsed. Released in 2015, the story follows two rebels, Max Rockatansky and Imperator Furiosa, as they attempt to survive and bring balance to a world torn by chaos and strife.
