As a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga brings back many characters from the original movie. However, the prequel doesn’t explain the fate of Immortan Joe’s youngest son, Scabrous Scrotus.
In Furiosa, Josh Helman takes on the role of Scrotus, a hot-headed warlord of the Citadel who wants his father to go to war with Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) and his Biker Horde. Scrotus is often seen by the side of his bigger brother, Rictus Erectus (Nathan Jones), one of the main characters of Fury Road.
For people who only follow George Miller’s movies, there’s a certain expectation that Furiosa will explain why Scrotus is nowhere to be seen in Fury Road. However, the answer to this question lies elsewhere, in the Mad Max video game released in 2015.
Who is Scabrous Scrotus in the Mad Max game?
Developed by Avalanche Studios, the Mad Max video game takes place before the events of Fury Road. In the game, Max Rockatansky has a grim encounter with Scrotus and his band of War Boys, who steal the road warrior’s signature Interceptor. In the game, you take control of Max as he puts together a new car to cross the Wastelands and take revenge on Scrotus. Along the path, Max discovers more about Immortan Joe’s domain over the Wastelands, even though the villain is only a looming presence.
Until the release of Furiosa, the Mad Max video game was viewed as a spinoff that loosely connected to the film series. Miller acted as a consultant during the game’s development, and the story is based on the filmmaker’s Fury Road background notes. Still, as a spinoff not directed by Miller, the game never claimed to be part of the franchise’s canon. That changes with Furiosa, as the game is now the only bridge to link the prequel and Fury Road regarding Scabrous Scrotus.
What happens to Scrotus after Furiosa?
Furiosa explores the functioning of the Citadel’s vassal settlements, such as the Bullet Farm and Gas Town. In doing so, the prequel explores the complicated political conflicts that shaped the Wastelands.
Furiosa reveals that more than a decade before the events of Fury Road, Gas Town was sieged by Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) and his Biker Horde. Dementus conquers the settlement and strikes a deal with Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme in Furiosa and Hugh Keays-Byrne in Fury Road). The leader of the Biker Horde becomes the master of Gas Town, a position Immortan Joe is forced to concede to him lest the unstable man blows up the Wastelands’ primary fuel source.
Since Dementus is incapable of managing Gas Town and the Biker Horde keeps working to take control over the Citadel, war breaks down between the two factions. The conflict ends when Anya Taylor-Joy’s Furiosa captures Dementus, snuffing his rebellion. Furiosa only wants revenge, but her actions lead her to become Immortan Joe’s Imperator, the position she holds in Fury Road.
In Fury Road, the People Eater (John Howard) is the new leader of Gas Town. However, during the events of the Mad Max game, Scrotus controls the fuel settlement. The whole game revolves around Max going after Scrotus, a mission ending in a ferocious battle in Gas Town itself. It’s worth noting that Scrotus has a different design in the game, where he appears as a muscular warrior similar to Rictus Erectus. In Furiosa, though, Scrotus dwarves by the side of his brother.
Since Scrotus is already dead in Fury Road, it makes sense for the game’s events to be canon now. That gives us a clear succession line for Gas Town, as Scrotus would have taken control of it after the fall of Dementus. Only when Max kills Scrotus is Immortan Joe forced to send the People Eater to oversee the place. As for Max, the game ends with the road warrior retrieving his Interceptor and driving into the horizon in search of a way of getting rid of his disturbing visions, which fits perfectly with Fury Road’s opening scene.
So far, there has been no official announcement to make the events of the Mad Max game canon. However, Furiosa gives Scrotus too much screen time for the character to disappear before Fury Road mysteriously. Since Warner Bros. Discovery has the distribution rights for Miller’s Mad Max movies and the spinoff game, it makes sense for the company that every piece of the franchise fits together.