Watch order
Mad Max movie watch order
George Miller’s theatrical Mad Max saga from Mad Max (1979) through Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024). Release follows premiere order—so Fury Road arrives before the Furiosa prequel. Story follows practical wasteland chronology: Mad Max → The Road Warrior → Beyond Thunderdome → Furiosa → Fury Road. Games and comics stay optional. Wasteland neighbors: Terminator and John Wick.
Release order
When each Mad Max film opened—from Mad Max (1979) through Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (May 24, 2024). Best first path: watch in premiere order so Fury Road still lands as a discovery before the Furiosa prequel.
- First watch → Release: Mad Max → Road Warrior → Thunderdome → Fury Road → Furiosa
- Classic trilogy only → Mad Max → Road Warrior → Beyond Thunderdome
- Modern duo → Fury Road then Furiosa in premiere order
- Games / comics → optional
Story order tips
Practical wasteland chronology: Mad Max → The Road Warrior → Beyond Thunderdome → Furiosa → Fury Road. Same five films; only Furiosa moves ahead of Fury Road because it is a prequel.
- Mad Max → Road Warrior → Beyond Thunderdome (classic arc)
- Furiosa → prequel years before Fury Road
- Fury Road → after Furiosa on this tab
- Same five films as Release; only Furiosa moves
Story order
Practical wasteland chronology: Mad Max → The Road Warrior → Beyond Thunderdome → Furiosa → Fury Road. Same five films; only Furiosa moves ahead of Fury Road because it is a prequel.
- Mad Max → Road Warrior → Beyond Thunderdome (classic arc)
- Furiosa → prequel years before Fury Road
- Fury Road → after Furiosa on this tab
- Same five films as Release; only Furiosa moves
Timeline
When each season premiered in the US. Expand a row for dates and where it fits in your watch order.
Release order
Mad Max
TheatricalStreamingMain sagaLive-actionGeorge Miller’s 1979 Australian opener follows Mel Gibson’s Max Rockatansky as law frays on the open road—vengeance, V8 culture, and the collapse grammar every later wasteland film still answers. This tab dates the original premiere year, not the Furiosa/Fury Road shuffle.
- Overview
- Low-budget car-chase mythmaking that invents modern wasteland pulp. Correct start on both tabs; the classic trilogy and the later duo both grow from this origin.
- Related games
- Franchise opener. Story and Release agree on first place. Action neighbors: Terminator and John Wick.
- Where it fits
- Start here on Release and on Story. Required before The Road Warrior either way.
- Premiere dates
- Australian theatrical release April 12, 1979; wider international rollout followed (US 1980).
The Road Warrior
TheatricalStreamingMain sagaLive-actionMiller’s 1981 sequel—also known as Mad Max 2—strands Max in a fuel-war convoy siege after the world has tipped further into ruin. Still the series’ chase-craft peak for many viewers, and the bridge from the first film into full wasteland myth.
- Overview
- Lean post-apocalyptic pursuit cinema with tanker-run set pieces that redefined the genre. Same second place on Story.
- Related games
- Continues into Beyond Thunderdome on both tabs. Naming differs by region—Road Warrior and Mad Max 2 are the same film.
- Where it fits
- Second on both tabs. Watch after Mad Max; Story keeps the classic trilogy ladder before the Furiosa shuffle.
- Premiere dates
- Australian theatrical release May 21, 1981 (Mad Max 2); US title The Road Warrior (1982).
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
TheatricalStreamingMain sagaLive-actionMiller and George Ogilvie’s 1985 third chapter drops Max into Bartertown and Tina Turner’s Aunty Entity—arena politics, lost children, and a broader wasteland society that closes the classic Mel Gibson trilogy.
- Overview
- Expands from pure chase grammar into settlement myth and found-family stakes. End of the 1979–1985 three before the long gap to Fury Road.
- Related games
- Closes the classic trilogy block. Next on Release is Fury Road; on Story, Furiosa comes before that 2015 film.
- Where it fits
- Third on both tabs among the classic three. Watch after The Road Warrior; Story continues into Furiosa next, not straight to Fury Road.
- Premiere dates
- US theatrical release July 10, 1985 (Warner Bros.).
Mad Max: Fury Road
TheatricalStreamingMain sagaLive-actionMiller’s 2015 return—with Tom Hardy as Max and Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiosa—rebuilds the wasteland as a nonstop war-rig chase. This tab dates the US theatrical bow; Story places the Furiosa prequel before this film even though theaters played Fury Road first.
- Overview
- Practical-stunt blockbuster grammar that relaunched the saga for a new generation. On Story it sits last, after Furiosa’s earlier years.
- Related games
- Modern saga peak in theaters. Story places Furiosa (2024 film, earlier wasteland years) before this chase. Neighbor pulp: Alien.
- Where it fits
- Fourth on Release; fifth on Story. Watch here in premiere order, or after Furiosa on Story for calendar order.
- Premiere dates
- US theatrical release May 15, 2015 (Warner Bros.).
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
TheatricalStreamingMain sagaPrequelMiller’s 2024 prequel follows Anya Taylor-Joy’s young Furiosa from Green Place captivity through Dementus and the Citadel years that forge the Imperator of Fury Road. Released last; set before that 2015 chase.
- Overview
- Origin epic that deepens Furiosa without requiring you to rewatch Fury Road first—though premiere order still works for first-timers.
- Related games
- Prequel years on Story. Release still plays it after Fury Road; Story continues into that 2015 film next. Epic neighbor: Dune.
- Where it fits
- Last on Release; fourth on Story (before Fury Road). Watch here after Fury Road in premiere order, or before it on Story.
- Premiere dates
- US theatrical release May 24, 2024 (Warner Bros.).
FAQ
Release vs Furiosa-before-Fury-Road Story lane, Road Warrior naming, classic trilogy vs modern films, and optional extras.
Watch order
Mad Max (1979) → The Road Warrior (1981) → Beyond Thunderdome (1985) → Fury Road (2015) → Furiosa (2024). That is the premiere path and this page’s recommended first watch. Use Story if you want Furiosa before Fury Road.
Release is premiere order (Fury Road before Furiosa). Story follows wasteland order: Mad Max → Road Warrior → Beyond Thunderdome → Furiosa → Fury Road. First-time viewers should stay on Release so Fury Road still lands as a discovery.
Yes. Mad Max, The Road Warrior, and Beyond Thunderdome form a complete Mel Gibson arc. Fury Road and Furiosa continue the wasteland later with new leads—watch them if you want the full five, skip them if you only want the classic three.
Years & prequels
Not for a first watch. Furiosa is a prequel set before Fury Road, so Story puts it first of that pair. In theaters it arrived second, in 2024. Start with Fury Road on Release; use Story when you want calendar order on a rewatch.
What’s included
More timelines
Other release-order and story-order guides on this site.
- Media
Terminator
Terminator movies in US theatrical release order and Cameron continuity—six films from The Terminator through Dark Fate, with T1, T2, and Dark Fate as the practical story path.
- Media
Alien
Alien movies in US theatrical release order and practical story chronology—seven films from Alien through Romulus, with Prometheus and Covenant as prequels and Romulus between Alien and Aliens.
- Media
Dune
Dune movies in US theatrical release order and modern Arrakis story order—Lynch’s 1984 film as optional alternate, plus Villeneuve’s Part One (2021) and Part Two (2024).
- Media
John Wick
John Wick movies in US theatrical release order and story sequence—four films from John Wick through Chapter 4, with the same path on both tabs and Ballerina optional.
- Media
Fast & Furious
Fast and Furious movies in US release order and chronology—Tokyo Drift placement, Hobbs and Shaw, and the road to Fast X, with dual-timeline FAQ.