Mad Max: Fury Road - 20 Easter Eggs, In-Jokes & References
Something old, something new, something bonkers...
If you had any money on Mad Max: Fury Road enchanting both critics and the public and being widely proclaimed as the film of the summer you probably knew something nobody else did. Or you're a massive George Miller fan who wasn't fooled by his flirtations with talking pigs and dancing penguins.
Either way, you're in the minority.
Nevertheless, Miller's ingeniously bonkers, hyper-stylised chase epic deserves every positive column inch devoted to it. Despite coming an improbable 30 years after Beyond Thunderdome and basically being the poster boy for Development Hell movies, it's gloriously successful, not only as a Mad Max film but also as a bleeding edge action film.
And though Miller used technological advances and a curiously charitable studio to make a Mad Max film not limited by anything that took away from the success of the originals, it firmly belongs to the same family in a way far more tangible than just the title. In allowing Miller to keep the reins of his franchise, despite the presumed claims of other, younger directors, Warner Bros. scored a master-stroke.
It's new and shiny and deliciously extreme for new fans, but the entire film is littered with references, Easter Eggs and echoes of what Miller achieved in the other three Mad Max films, and dredging through those nods and backslaps is gold for franchise fans.
Inevitably, spoilers will follow...
20. The "Cameos"
While it was suggested for a long time that Mel Gibson might be appearing in some capacity after the extended production period meant he had to drop out of the lead role, the expected cameo never materialised. Rumours initially suggested that Gibson would appear as a road drifter - probably the original Max - to reinforce the idea that The Road Warrior is more like a mythical figure and could be more than one person.
Maybe that will happen in one of the inevitable sequels?
There were two returns for Mad Max veterans however. Most notably, Hugh Keays-Byrne, who played the villainous Toecutter in the first Mad Max film turned up again as the Big Bad. Had Justice League come off, this would have presumably been his third outing working with George Miller, who wanted him to play Martian Manhunter in the DC ensemble.
Screenwriter Nick Lathouris also makes his second outing, having had a supporting role in the first movie in 1979.