Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome them, as Max, still alive in the desert, wanders on to places unknown. "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" was the first "Mad Max" film made without producer Byron Kennedy, who was killed in a helicopter crash in 1983 while location scouting for the film. While the film was in development before Kennedy's death, director George Miller was hesitant to continue without his producing partner. "I was reluctant to go ahead," said Miller. "And then there was a sort of need to – let's do something just to get over the shock and grief of all of that." A title card at
Mad Max 2 refer to the Max character at all, and all shied away from the fact that the film was a sequel. For the majority of viewers, their first inkling of "Road Warrior" being a sequel to "Mad Max" was when they saw the black and white, archival footage from the previous film, during the prologue. The film was a commercial success, earning $3.7 million in rentals in Australia. As "The Road Warrior" in North America, it was a greater success. The film earned $11.3 million in rentals and $23.6 million in grosses. Vestron Video capitalized by releasing "Mad Max" on video