The Fast & Furious franchise is nearing the end of its track, according to a report by Deadline. Sources told the outlet that Universal Pictures plans to end the core Fast & Furious franchise after just two more films, both of which will be directed by Justin Lin. There is still a chance that spin-offs like last year’s Hobbs & Shaw will carry the story on a quarter-mile at a time.
Lin has already directed F9, which is in post-production now, and is reportedly in talks with Universal to direct two more installments to close out the saga. This call is a surprising move for industry insiders, as Fast & Furious has become the highest-grossing movie series Universal has ever made. On the other hand, the studio reportedly has big plans for the two-part finale, centered around the fictional found-family of street-racing heist experts.
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After F9, the proposed final two films of the series would reportedly tell one over-arching story, centered around Vin Diesel’s character Dom Torretto. It would bring back the entire core cast including Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel and Sung Kang. There is no word yet on whether more orbital characters would be involved — even those in F9.
F9 centers heavily on characters that have been more recently added and whose allegiance is hard to pin down. They include John Cena as Dom’s brother, Jakob Torretto, Helen Mirren as spy matriarch Magdalene Shaw and Charlize Theron as a criminal mastermind known only as Cipher.
There are also Jason Statham and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to consider, especially after their spin-off success last year. However, rumors have built up suggesting that Johnson and Diesel do not work well together, so his role could be minimized in the upcoming crescendo of the Torretto tale.
The franchise started in 2001 with The Fast and the Furious, a more straightforward street-racing drama about an undercover FBI agent played by Paul Walker. Since then, the series has grown in scope and adapted to more of an all-around action franchise, with a slight focus on car-related stunts. Walker’s tragic passing in 2013 helped to crystalize many fans’ love of the franchise as well.
Today, F9 is in post-production, with a slated release date of Memorial Day 2021. The rest of the franchise is available on most digital stores for rental or purchase.
