Film fans who are new to the Mad Max franchise are often curious whether it’s based on a comic book or novel or is an original story. The highly stylized franchise has had movies in multiple decades and has made the jump to the world of video games, so it has a lot in common with many other science-fiction franchises that sprang from novels or comic books.
So do comic books or novels serve as the basis for Max Rockatansky’s trials and tribulations or are they original stories? Here is a guide to the franchise’s origins.
Is the Mad Max franchise based on a comic book or a novel?
No, the Mad Max franchise is not based on a comic book or a novel.
The franchise was first created in 1979 by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. Mel Gibson played Max Rockatansky in the first three Mad Max films released between 1979 and 1985 and Tom Hardy took over the role for Mad Max: Fury Road.
However, a prequel comic book series based on Fury Road was released monthly between May 20 and August 5, 2015.
Is Mad Max an original story?
Yes, Mad Max is an original story. George Miller and Byron Kennedy developed the story and characters.
The series follows Max Rockatansky, an Australian cop living in a dystopian future in which social order and environmental stability have broken down.
Tragedy strikes Max when his wife and child are killed by a violent biker gang who he later kills in revenge. Max then becomes a drifter who helps people in need despite his initial resistance and desire to remain alone. In Mad Max: Fury Road, Max encounters Furiosa, whose origin story is depicted in the prequel film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Thanks to two video games that were released in 1990 and 2015, the franchise also found a home in the video game industry. The first video game released in 1990 was based on the second film released in 1981 while the second game released in 2015 and published by Avalanche Studios is an original story.
