Does Praetorian Jack Die In Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga?

The following contains major spoilers for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Summary Praetorian Jack dies being tortured by Dementus' Biker Horde.

After the action sequence in Bullet Farm, Jack is captured and killed.

Tom Burke confirmed his character's death in Furiosa.

Praetorian Jack, played by Tom Burke, does his best to protect the titular character in Furiosa, begging the question of whether he survives. In the harsh wastelands of the Mad Max franchise, allies are hard to come by, and friends even less likely. Yet, in her daring journey to find her way home, Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) earns the respect of the proven road warrior Praetorian Jack, who helps turn her raw skills into refined warfare talent and becomes her companion and lover throughout George Miller's epic.

In Mad Max chronology, Furiosa is a prequel film to 2015's Fury Road, which has been hailed as one of the greatest action movies ever. However, with any prequel comes the question of the whereabouts of certain characters in the later movie. With a villain like Dementus (Chris Hemsworth), one can expect that Furiosa would dispose of him by the movie's end in some capacity; hence him not being a character in Fury Road. Praetorian Jack is an established warrior in the Citadel culture that's prevalent in the 2015 movie, suggesting he likely wouldn't survive either.

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Praetorian Jack Dies Being Tortured By Dementus' Biker Horde

After The Action Sequence In Bullet Farm, Praetorian Jack Is Captured And Killed

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The Bullet Farm action sequence in Furiosa lives up to the standards set in George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road, as Dementus and his horde ambush the War Rig. Furiosa and Jack do their best to survive, nearly eliminating Dementus and taking out several of his men. In an attempt to escape, he pursues them with his larger monster truck, eventually capturing the pair. At this time, Dementus tortures Praetorian Jack, killing him. Furiosa is able to escape and claim revenge later on, but Jack is left out of the rest of the movie.

The Furiosa ending is as violent and action-packed as one would hope for from an installment to the Mad Max franchise, though Praetorian Jack is the rare well-meaning character in the saga that no one wants to see perish. Plenty of characters in George Miller's world have survived terrible things and pressed on, so it wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination to assume Jack would appear sometime in the future. However, as of now, this seems to be the one and only appearance of the likable road warrior.

Tom Burke Confirmed Praetorian Jack's Death In Furiosa

Tom Burke Confirmed His Character's Death With George Miller

Audiences aren't the only ones wondering whether future films will see more Praetorian Jack. Having had the same curiosity about Jack's fate, actor Tom Burke shared some insight on the matter. Knowing that characters had previously survived such situations in the Mad Max universe, Burke revealed that he went to director George Miller to question the finality of the event. In an interview with GQ, he states:

I actually read the words, “He's dead and she sees his dead lifeless corpse.” And eventually, it was about a week, I said, “George, I'm dead, aren't I?” He's like, “Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.” Because I thought, You never know, I could come back. He might not have any face left, but a lot of people in the Wasteland are like that.

There are multiple Mad Max movies in development, though their future may be up in the air given Furiosa's box office struggles. Given the current plans, however, the films George Miller has discussed include a prequel to Fury Road, which would occur one year beforehand, and a sequel to the 2015 movie titled Mad Max: The Wasteland. Chronologically, neither of these films would line up with an opportunity to see Jack return, though there could always be comics or video games exploring his life before Furiosa.

Related The Importance Of Furiosa's Seed & Its Multiple Meanings Explained The importance of Furiosa's peach seed changes in the film, and it relates to Mad Max: Fury Road. Its multiple meanings need further explanation.

How Praetorian Jack Dying Impacts Furiosa

Praetorian Jack's Life & Death Are Vital To Furiosa's Character Growth

Image via Warner Bros.

At first glance, Praetorian Jack's purpose in Furiosa may seem like more of a plot utility for her training as a warrior and for her survival in the harsh Citadel, but there's much more to it. Strictly speaking about Furiosa, the titular character wanders through the world in an effort to get home, fully believing that she has to be entirely self-sufficient to do so. In such an environment, receiving genuine help from a kind, caring person has massive implications and could be seen as a significant reason for choosing hope over revenge in the end.

To see what happens next on Furiosa's journey, Mad Max: Fury Road is streaming on Max.

In terms of Furiosa as a character in Mad Max: Fury Road, there's an added element to her relationship with Max now. While the pair are initially reluctant to trust one another, it's possible that her eventual warming to him could be due to the similarities between him and Jack. It's absolutely vital for Furiosa to maintain hope in humanity, and though Jack's death may haunt her, his life of honor and nobility serves as a far more impactful message to her in Furiosa.

Sources: GQ