If you’re staring at a streaming menu wondering where the hell to start with George Miller’s desert-fried fever dream, you aren’t alone. The math used to be easy. Then things got... complicated. As of right now, in early 2026, there are five official Mad Max movies.
That’s the short answer. The long answer involves a 45-year production history, a recast lead, a prequel that feels like a five-season TV show, and a "lost" sequel that might actually become a TV show. It's a lot.
Honestly, the franchise doesn't work like Marvel. There’s no strict "Phase One." It’s more like a collection of campfire legends told by different people who can’t quite remember if Max looked like Mel Gibson or Tom Hardy. But if you want to be the person at the watch party who actually knows what’s going on, here is the breakdown of the wasteland as it stands today.
The Original Trilogy (The Mel Gibson Era)
Everything started with a shoestring budget and a lot of real-life car crashes in the late 70s. These three movies are the foundation. They take us from "the world is getting kinda weird" to "the world is a giant radioactive sandbox."
1. Mad Max (1979)
This one usually surprises people who grew up on the later films. There’s no desert. There are actually green trees and functioning gas stations. Max is a cop with a family and a clean uniform. It’s a revenge thriller about the very beginning of the end. Society is fraying at the edges, biker gangs are domestic terrorists, and the law is barely holding on. It's gritty, low-budget, and feels more like a 70s exploitation flick than a sci-fi epic.
👉 See also: New Movies in Theatre: What Most People Get Wrong About This Month's Picks
2. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
This is the one that changed everything. If you picture "Mad Max" in your head—the leather, the Mohawks, the spiked cars—it comes from here. The apocalypse has happened. Gasoline is the only currency. Miller basically invented a new genre of action here. It’s tight, fast, and features a final chase sequence that still puts modern CGI-fests to shame.
3. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
Things got weird here. Tina Turner showed up. We got a PG-13 rating. The movie is famous for the "Two men enter, one man leaves" arena fight, but the second half pivots into a story about a tribe of lost children that feels a bit like Peter Pan met Lord of the Flies. It’s often called the "weakest" of the original three, but its world-building—especially Bartertown—is legendary.
The Modern Revival and the Prequel Twist
After 1985, the franchise went into a deep sleep. George Miller spent decades trying to get a fourth movie off the ground. It was stuck in development hell for thirty years. Rain in the Australian desert (which made it too green to film) even forced the production to move to Namibia.
4. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
When this finally hit theaters, it was a literal explosion. Tom Hardy took over as Max, but Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiosa stole the show. It’s essentially one long, two-hour car chase. It won six Oscars. It’s widely considered one of the best action movies ever made. In 2026, it still holds up as the gold standard for practical stunts and visual storytelling.
✨ Don't miss: A Simple Favor Blake Lively: Why Emily Nelson Is Still the Ultimate Screen Mystery
5. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
The newest entry. This isn't a Max movie—it’s a prequel focused entirely on Furiosa’s origin. Anya Taylor-Joy plays the younger version of the character, and Chris Hemsworth hammed it up as the villainous Dementus. It’s much longer than Fury Road and covers about 15 years of wasteland history. While it didn't set the box office on fire back in 2024, it has since become a cult favorite on streaming for its massive scale and "odyssey" feel.
The Big "What’s Next" Confusion: Mad Max: The Wasteland
You might have heard about a movie called Mad Max: The Wasteland. If you're looking for it on a streaming service right now, you won't find it.
Here is the deal: Miller has had the script for The Wasteland ready for years. It’s a prequel to Fury Road that follows Max during the year leading up to that movie. For a long time, we all thought it would be the sixth film. However, after Furiosa underperformed at the box office, things shifted.
Reports from late 2025 and into this year suggest that The Wasteland is being reworked into an episodic series. Warner Bros. is looking at the success of big-budget streaming shows and thinking Max might live better there for a while. Tom Hardy’s involvement is a massive question mark—he’s hinted in interviews that he might be done with the leather jacket.
🔗 Read more: The A Wrinkle in Time Cast: Why This Massive Star Power Didn't Save the Movie
So, if you’re counting "stories," there’s a sixth one in the oven, but don't expect to see it in a theater anytime soon.
The "Best" Order to Watch Them
Don't overthink this. You have two real options.
- The Release Order: 1, 2, 3, Fury Road, Furiosa. This is how the world experienced them. You watch the filmmaking evolve from 1979 to 2024.
- The Chronological Order: 1, 2, 3, Furiosa, Fury Road. This actually works pretty well because Furiosa ends exactly where Fury Road begins. It makes the 2015 movie feel like the grand finale of a much larger story.
Actionable Next Steps for the Wasteland-Curious
If you want to dive in today, don't just start at the beginning. Most modern fans actually struggle with the 1979 original because it’s so slow compared to the newer ones.
Step 1: Watch Mad Max: Fury Road first. It’s the highest "energy" entry and will tell you immediately if you like this world.
Step 2: If you loved the world but wanted more story, watch Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Step 3: Go back to The Road Warrior (Mad Max 2). It’s the spiritual ancestor of the modern films and holds up remarkably well for a 45-year-old movie.
Step 4: Keep an eye on trade publications like Deadline or The Hollywood Reporter for official word on The Wasteland series. The transition from film to TV is still in flux, and 2026 is shaping up to be the year we finally get a trailer or a release date.
The wasteland is a mess, but it’s a beautiful one. Just grab some popcorn, turn up the volume, and witness it.