Although Chris Hemsworth’s Dementus and Lachy Hulme’s Immortan Joe have gotten a lot of attention since Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’s second trailer arrived, these two villains aren’t the Mad Max spinoff’s most mysterious character. story of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga promises to delve into the origins of Charlize Theron’s Fury Road heroine, Furiosa. Anya Taylor-Joy plays a younger version of Furiosa who is kidnapped from the Green Place by Chris Hemsworth’s villainous biker gang leader, Dementus. Immortan Joe will also be in the mix.
Since Furiosa takes place earlier in the Mad Max franchise timeline than Fury Road, it’s not clear whether the extent of Immortan Joe’s villainy will be obvious in this prequel. The warlord may seem like an ally to Furiosa in her fight against Dementus, which might explain how she ended up working for him before the events of Fury Road. Although the new Immortan Joe seems appropriately scary and Hemsworth’s campy take on Dementus has plenty of chances to chew the scenery in the movie’s trailer, there is another new character who could prove pivotal to the prequel’s plot.
Tom Burke’s Praetorian Jack is only glimpsed in Furiosa’s trailer, but he could be central to the movie’s story. Burke was one of the first actors cast in the prequel after Taylor-Joy and Hemsworth, meaning his role is likely to be central to its storyline. Praetorian Jack is a War Rig driver, but it is not clear whose side he is on or how he knows Furiosa. At one point in the trailer, Praetorian Jack can be seen waking Furiosa up and almost getting a knife to the face for his troubles. As such, he may be an ally or a love interest.
This wouldn’t necessarily be good news for Burke’s character. The surprisingly dark original Mad Max killed off Max’s wife and child to contextualize his unhinged, merciless demeanor and there is a good chance that the same could happen to Furiosa’s lone ally. Praetorian Jack may die to round out Furiosa’s character arc, either giving her a reason to stay aligned with Immortan Joe or another vendetta against Dementus. Regardless, it seems unlikely that a major character who plays a role in Furiosa but was never mentioned in Fury Road will make it through the prequel’s story alive.
According to a recent interview with Hulme, Furiosa‘s creators didn’t even have an onscreen role for Immortan Joe planned when they began filming. In contrast, Burke’s role was one of the first casting decisions to be announced alongside Hemsworth and Taylor-Joy. Originally set to be played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Praetorian Jack is likely to play a bigger role in Furiosa’s story than the trailers imply. The character may even have a more substantial part than either Fury Road’s warlord or Hemsworth’s Dementus, since Immortan Joe was cast so late and Dementus is the prequel’s villain.
This could be great news as it proves that Furiosa still has some surprises in store for viewers. The prequel faces a tough challenge since the Mad Max series already set Furiosa’s backstory in stone when she appeared in Fury Road. Viewers know she ends up working for Immortan Joe and is understandably disillusioned by this work years later. This makes it easy enough to guess who wins in the showdown between the warlord and Dementus. However, there is no guessing Praetorian Jack’s role in Furiosa’s story, and this could end up being a huge part of the movie.
If Immortan Joe kills Praetorian Jack after defeating Dementus, this may explain why Furiosa didn’t leave his side earlier than Fury Road. Praetorian Jack may turn out to be a close confidante of Furiosa, so the warlord dispassionately killing his own War Rig driver would be an unsettling reminder to Furiosa of what happens to anyone who gets in Immortan Joe’s way. While Furiosa’s version of Immortan Joe will be different from his Fury Road counterpart, he is still likely to be a lethal villain.
Furiosa could retroactively justify Furiosa’s work for Immortan Joe by depicting him as a ruthless killer who slaughters his own followers to maintain order. This would fit his character, give Praetorian Jack a moving, meaningful death, and finally explain why Furiosa took so long to turn on the warlord. Thus, Tom Burke’s character could prove central to Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga‘s contributions to the Mad Max franchise, despite how little Praetorian Jack has been seen in the movie’s promotional materials.