Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) put Johnny the Boy (Tim Burns) in a very tough situation at the end of main Mad Max villains aren't the only antagonists in the Wasteland. Each of them also had minions and followers who were just as vile as their leaders, and Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne) had Johnny the Boy. Most of Max's enemies don't live long, but there's a chance that Johnny the Boy may be one of the few to do it, thanks to his ambiguous ending in Mad Max.
At the end of Mad Max, after he's killed Toecutter, Max finds Johnny the Boy looting the corpse of a man he presumably ran off the road. Max then handcuffed his leg to the undercarriage of the upturned car and rigged a makeshift bomb out of the leaking gasoline. He gave Johnny the Boy a hacksaw and told him that he could cut through the chain in 10 minutes, or his own leg in five. However, instead of confirming that Johnny the Boy actually died, Max walked back to his car and drove into the Wasteland, and Johnny the Boy's fate was left open-ended.
It's (Almost) Impossible That Johnny The Boy Survives Mad Max's Ending
Johnny The Boy Probably Wasn't Able To Cut Off His Foot Before The Car Exploded
Though the movie left some room for him to survive, Johnny the Boy almost certainly died at the ending of Mad Max. While the exact age of time in the scene is a bit shaky, it seems clear that Max only gave Johnny a few moments to free himself. Johnny wasted a good portion of that time to yell at Max, and he also didn't seem like the type of person who was strong-willed enough to be able to cut off his leg in just five minutes. It seems much more likely that Johnny the Boy tried to cut the handcuffs and didn't have enough time before the explosion consumed him.
Where Was The Original Mad Max Filmed? All Filming Locations Explained
George Miller's Mad Max is a classic of the action genre, and Miller and company seized the state of Victoria, Australia, to make it memorable.
George Miller, the creator of the entire Mad Max franchise, likely didn't show Johnny the Boy dying in the explosion because of Mad Max's bare-bones budget. The special effects required to show Johnny dying on-screen would have been far too expensive for Mad Max's 400 thousand Australian dollar budget. Miller likely decided that heavily implying that Johnny the Boy had died would suffice, but his decision also left the door open for the character to return years later.
Johnny The Boy Could Still Return For Revenge Against Max In A Future Movie
George Miller Planned To Bring Other Mad Max Characters Back, So Johnny The Boy Could Return
As unlikely as it seems, there is still a chance that Johnny the Boy could return in an Lord Humungus' unused backstory in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior would have revealed that he was once Jim Goose (Steve Bisley), Max's partner on the MFP who was burnt to a crisp by Johnny the Boy.
It seems Johnny the Boy died in Mad Max, and that he won't be returning to the screen any time soon.
George Miller's plan for Goose makes Johnny the Boy's return possible, but unlikely. Much like Johnny the Boy, Goose's death wasn't shown on screen in Mad Max, likely because Miller had been planning to have him return. It's entirely possible that Miller didn't show Johnny's death on screen so that he could return for a later Mad Max movie. He did, after all, go to great lengths to depict Toecutter being flattened by a semi-truck, and he could have done the same for Johnny if he really wanted to show that he was dead.
Mad Max Movies In Release Order |
|
|---|---|
Title |
Release Year |
Mad Max |
1979 |
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior |
1982 |
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome |
1985 |
Mad Max: Fury Road |
2015 |
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga |
2024 |
Though it's possible, it now seems less likely than ever that Johnny the Boy could return. Mad Max - particularly Mad Max: Fury Road and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - has moved on from Max's days with the MFP, and Miller has seemingly no interest in revisiting the early days of the franchise. Goose's return in The Road Warrior was also cut because Miller thought not enough people had seen the first film, and that problem hasn't gotten any better after four decades. It seems Johnny the Boy died in Mad Max, and that he won't be returning to the screen any time soon.
Mad Max
- Release Date
- March 21, 1980
- Runtime
- 88 Minutes
- Director
- George Miller
Cast
Joanne Samuel
WHERE TO WATCH
Mad Max is a 1979 sci-fi action film from director and writer George Miller. Mel Gibson stars as Max a police officer in the future who goes after a gang of vicious motorcycle thugs. The film led to a long-running franchise including The Road Warrior, Beyond Thunderdome, Fury Road, and Furiosa.
- Writers
- George Miller, James McCausland, Byron Kennedy
- Sequel(s)
- Mad Max: The Wasteland
- Franchise(s)
- Mad Max
- Main Genre
- Action
- Budget
- $233–266 Million
- Studio(s)
- Kennedy Miller Entertainment
- Distributor(s)
- Roadshow Film Distributors
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