In the opening scene when we see the Gyro Pilot steal Max’s crap, I thought he was going to find him and confront him, with them then recognizing each other. But instead it takes most of the movie for him to show up again, and Max never says he’s mad at him for taking his ride, and there’s never any indication that they recognize each other.
Bruce Spence’s character from Beyond Thunderdome isn’t meant to be his character from Road Warrior.
Starlog #95 said:
While traveling in the desert in his camel-drawn vehicle, Max is overtaken by a small methane-powered plane flown by the freewheeling bandit Jedediah and his son. Although the two characters bear no relation to each other, Jedediah is played by Bruce Spence, who was the much-loved Gyro Pilot in Road Warrior. Jedediah succeeds in taking off with all of Max’s worldly goods, leaving the hero to perish in the desert.
That’s dumb. Why not take a perfect opportunity and make it the same guy? That actually makes it worse.