The endgame of the Fast & Furious franchise
is coming. Can Dom and his family survive? Let's ride.
Almost as soon as "F9: The Fast Saga" unspooled in theaters in 2021,
fans wanted to know "What's next?" And more importantly, they wanted to know when the
follow-up and tenth installment in the "Fast and Furious" franchise would arrive in theaters.
Entertainment Weekly reported in August 2021 that the still tentatively titled "Fast & Furious
10" would start filming in January 2022 in advance of a release date of April 7, 2023.
A few months later, Universal changed course and pushed back the release of the film, now
officially known as "Fast X". The film's release date was officially changed to May 19, 2023.
According to the plot summary on the film's official website, "Fast X" is the beginning of
the endgame for the franchise. Dominic Toretto and his family stare down what's perhaps their most
dangerous endeavor yet. Back in "Fast Five," Dom and company took down drug kingpin Hernan Reyes.
Twelve years have passed, and his revenge-minded son who witnessed his father's end has spent the
entire period devising an elaborate and probably fatal revenge plot. Surviving and fighting back
will take the huge and ever-expanding crew around the world, from Rome to Los Angeles to Portugal,
and even Antarctica. As this movie is supposed to start to wrap up the series, plenty of long unseen
characters — heroic and villainous — are likely to return to take sides in the developing war.
And it seems that not every character will make it out of "Fast X" alive.
"One of us might not come back from this. But we have to fight."
Director Louis Leterrier told Empire,
"There's a war brewing. It's coming to an end,
and it is a race to the finish. There will be some tremendous casualties."
He also added that the movie promises to be so exciting that it's suggested in the
title. He pronounces "Fast X" as "fast ten" — like "fasten your seatbelts."
"Family" is extremely and repeatedly important to the "Fast and Furious" franchise, so expect
plenty of familiar faces to return to the series when it arrives in theaters in May 2023. Among the
returning cast members are Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto, Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto, Tyrese
Gibson as Roman, Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz, Sung Kang as Han, Charlize Theon as Cipher,
Helen Mirren as Queenie, John Cena as Jakob, Nathalie Emmanuel as Ramsey, Chris "Ludacris"
Bridges as Tej, Michael Rooker as Buddy, and Jason Statham as villain-turned-hero Deckard Shaw.
New additions to that already ridiculously packed cast include "Reacher" star Alan Ritchson,
Oscar winners Brie Larson and Rita Moreno, Portuguese film star Daniela Melchior,
and beloved action hero and "Aquaman" himself, Jason Momoa, as Dante Reyes.
The tenth official entry in the "Fast and Furious" saga will bear the creative thumbprint
of a director new to the franchise. Justin Lin, who helmed 2009's "Fast and Furious," 2011's
"Fast Five," 2013's "Fast & Furious 6," and 2021's "F9: The Fast Saga," left the directorial duties
this time to Louis Letterier. Experienced in the eye-popping action movie milieu,
Leterrier directed "Fast X" costar Jason Statham in "The Transporter" and its sequel,
as well as the 2008 MCU entry "The Incredible Hulk," the 2010 remake of "Clash of the Titans,
and all 10 episodes of Netflix's "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance."
Lin didn't entirely leave the "Fast and Furious" family, however. He collaborated on the "Fast X"
screenplay with Daniel Casey, a re-pairing of the team who wrote the script for "F9:
The Fast Saga." That film's story came from the mind of writer Alfredo Botello,
and he similarly contributed the plot outline for "Fast X."
After 10 mainline films, the franchise is coming to a close. But as the trailers for
"Fast X" suggest, the latest outing is only the beginning of the end. "Fast X" may mark
the end of "Fast & Furious" as we know it, but it's only the first part of the story. After
previous reports that "Fast X" would conclude the series, Variety announced that "The Fast
Saga" would end with a two-part finale, one that will reclaim the franchise's street racing roots.
Though we don't yet know the title or the release date for the final installment — which will mark
Vin Diesel's 10th portrayal of Dom Toretto after skipping out on "2 Fast 2 Furious" — we do know
that the "Fast & Furious" team is working hard to develop a rewarding conclusion. When speaking
with "Variety," Diesel further explained the decision to end the franchise with
the eleventh feature by comparing the series to J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings."
"There's a reason Tolkien stopped writing
after a while. Because it's so hard to continue mythologies."
The longer this franchise — which went to outer space in "F9" — goes on, the harder
it is to keep it grounded and interesting. Here's hoping "F11" finishes in first.
Like many of the more recent "Fast & Furious" pictures, the cast and crew of "Fast X" find
themselves traveling all over the world. While the Torretto clan is based in Los Angeles, they
seem to find themselves breaking international laws consistently. "Fast X" is no different.
This time, the street-racing spy thieves find themselves filming in the United Kingdom,
Italy, and Portugal. Specifically, the "Fast X" team made their way to Rome,
where actor Jason Momoa was seen filming scenes for the movie.
Aside from their international escapades, the "Fast X" team returned to Angelino Heights to
film the majority of the LA scenes, with plenty of car chases and intense
stunts making waves across their usual stomping grounds. As "Variety" reported,
locals weren't too enthusiastic about the film's return, with some even organizing protests against
the production. Ever since the first film was released in 2001, popular "Fast & Furious"
filming locations — namely Bob's Market from the first film — have been desired points of
interest for fans and reckless drivers alike, leading to dangerous incidents on local roads.
Of course, not everyone was upset about the movie being filmed in their neighborhood.
Homeowner Planaria Price made it clear that she didn't want filming to end, telling Variety,
"It's one of the most important economic things we have in Los Angeles."
Known for its clever retcons and devil-may-care attitude, "The Fast Saga" isn't the easiest
franchise to sit down and watch without the proper context. Some of the earliest films actually
take place later on in the timeline, while later movies serve as prequels of sorts. Still, the very
first film, "The Fast and the Furious," is where everyone should start, as it introduces the world
and the primary characters, namely Vin Diesel's Dom Toretto and Paul Walker's Brian O'Conner.
After the original 2001 feature, Brian's adventures continue in the sequel "2 Fast
2 Furious," although Dom doesn't reunite with his friend until 2009's "Fast & Furious," which
is technically the fourth film but serves as the third chronologically. From there,
"Fast Five" and "Fast & Furious 6" continue the plot threads established in the fourth film. The
third film released in the series, "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," takes place immediately
after the sixth film leading into "Furious 7," which ties every previous installment together.
While "Furious 7" was notable as Walker's last portrayal of Brian O'Conner before his untimely
death, the series continued with "The Fate of the Furious." Tying in with the main franchise,
"Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw" takes place after "The Fate
of the Furious" but before "F9." "Fast X" will directly follow the events of "F9" and
begin the end of the Toretto clan's international adventures together.
From the very first "Fast & Furious" adventure, Paul Walker's Brian O'Conner made his mark on the
franchise and quickly solidified himself as a member of the Toretto family. After
becoming best friends with Dom and having children with his sister Mia,
the Brian character was retired following "Furious 7" due to Paul Walker's real-life death.
Both "The Fate of the Furious" and "F9" offered explanations for his lack of involvement. Still,
the character remains a part of the overarching "Fast & Furious" story.
"Brian and Mia got out of the game when they became parents."
"We're not them."
It seems like "The Fast Saga" can only hold out on showing Brian again for so long,
and it's becoming increasingly unlikely that the character would continue to
sit out each and every new conflict that Dom, Letty, and the gang find themselves
involved in. "Furious 7" sent off Brian well in a respectful ending that honored
Walker and the character. But with all the constant teases and references,
it's becoming increasingly less believable that Brian wouldn't show up again at some point.
When speaking with "Total Film," Vin Diesel made it clear that "The Fast
Saga" won't end without a proper sendoff for Paul Walker's breakout character.
"I will give you this without spoiling anything. I couldn't imagine this saga
ending without truly saying goodbye to Brian O'Conner."
In almost every "Fast & Furious" movie,
we're introduced to a new villain who has some strange hold over our favorite found
family. This has ranged from international terrorists to drug lords and assassins,
with some of Dom's most hated enemies becoming uneasy allies later on. With "Fast X," Jason
Momoa has been added to the ever-growing list of adversaries, but like "Furious 7" nemesis
Deckard Shaw before him, Momoa's Dante Reyes also has a previous connection to Dom and his crew.
As revealed in the "Fast X" trailers, Dante's time in "The Fast Saga" extends back to "Fast
Five," when Dom, Brian, and their crew took down drug lord Hernan Reyes. While Momoa
obviously didn't show up in "Fast Five," clever retconning and repurposed footage
have included him in the narrative. Though it was technically Luke Hobbs who executed Reyes,
the makeshift Toretto family was ultimately responsible for the drug lord's defeat.
Hoping to enact his revenge against his father's killers,
Momoa's character is rooted within the franchise's mythology and aims to be
the perfect antithesis of Dom. As director Louis Leterrier described him to Esquire,
"He's also the polar opposite of Dom. He's all color and flamboyance. It's the [yin] and yang,
the Christ and the Anti-Christ — the anti-Dom."
One of the strangest additions to the later years of "The Fast Saga" was the government
spymaster Mr. Nobody. Played to perfection by Kurt Russell, Mr. Nobody first appeared in "Furious 7,"
at the tail end of Brian O'Conner's tenure in the series. With the advent of this secret super-spy,
Dom and his family were ushered into a new world of international espionage
with potentially disastrous consequences. Appearing in the last three installments,
Russell's character isn't slated to appear in "Fast X," leaving his fate ambiguous.
At the beginning of "F9: The Fast Saga," Mr. Nobody is credited with
capturing Cipher and transporting her by plane back to the US. Unsurprisingly,
this transport doesn't go as planned and Mr. Nobody's plane goes down,
leaving Cipher to join Jakob Toretto on his revenge mission against Dom. In all the chaos,
the fate of Mr. Nobody is never officially addressed. Though Han eventually explains
how the agent helped him fake his death, his current whereabouts remain unclear.
Although Russell is not returning for "Fast X" — at least as far as
we know — Mr. Nobody's daughter Tess is set to appear. Played by Brie Larson,
the trailers suggest that Tess will aid Dom and his team in their mission against Dante Reyes,
acting in a similar capacity as her father did when working with the team.
Ever since "Fast Five," Dwayne Johnson has been an iconic part of the "Fast & Furious" franchise,
though his involvement has not been without some controversy. Series star Vin Diesel had initially
fought for Johnson's casting as government bounty hunter Luke Hobbs in the fifth film,
but the two clashed on set. Johnson reprised his role in "Fast & Furious
6" and "Furious 7," but took a break during the eighth installment, instead developing
his own spin-off with Jason Statham in "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw."
"When it comes to the fate of the world, it becomes my business."
Johnson also skipped "F9: The Fast Saga," though his spin-off co-star reprised his role as Shaw for
an uncredited after-credits sequence. While Statham is set to return as Shaw once more
for "Fast X," Hobbs will not be joining him. Since Johnson's character was so important to
"Fast Five" — he executed Hernan Reyes, after all — it will be interesting to see how "Fast
X" deals with Hobbs' absence and if Dante Reyes will even attempt to assassinate Hobbs as well.
While Dwayne Johnson has repeatedly distanced himself from "The Fast Saga," fans still hope
to see Luke Hobbs once more before the franchise closes out. With no concrete
news on a potential "Hobbs & Shaw" sequel and Johnson's disinterest in returning
to the main series, it's probably a safe bet to assume that Hobbs' story
will come to a close off-screen. It's not ideal, but that's show business.
"Fast & Furious" fans are also eager to see Gal Gadot's Gisele return. First appearing
in the fourth installment, "Fast & Furious," Gisele joined Dom's crew as a weapons expert
and specialist. As a former CIA agent, she was an enormous asset to the team
in both "Fast Five" and "Fast & Furious 6." Sadly, Gisele met her end saving her
boyfriend Han near the tail end of the sixth movie, and many fans still aren't over it.
"Gisele."
Aside from some passing mentions and a deleted scene from "Furious 7," Gadot
has been too busy playing Wonder Woman in the DCEU to return full-time to the
franchise. After Han's death in "Tokyo Drift" and subsequent return in "F9" — which followed
Letty's "death" and resurrection a few films prior — it's as possible as ever that
Gisele's demise could've been faked also, especially given her ties to Mr. Nobody.
While there hasn't been any official confirmation regarding Gisele's return
to "The Fast Saga," "The Direct" reported that Gal Gadot had filmed scenes for "Fast
X." In response to questions regarding Gisele's possible resurrection, Han actor Sung Kang told
"Digital Spy" that there was no reason the two couldn't be reunited by the franchise's end.
"Why can't she? ... Who doesn't want a load of Gal Gadot in their life?"
If she does return, odds are good that her
survival will be revealed in a post-credits sequence.
On March 10, with just over two months until the film was set to hit theaters,
Vin Diesel filmed a short scene characterized as a "tag" or "button," or what fans might just
call a "post-credits scene." He may have filmed it with a co-star whose identity
wasn't confirmed or revealed. Could Gal Gadot be his alleged secret scene partner?
It seems that with almost every new venture into "The Fast Saga," the movies get bigger
and increasingly more expensive. Following the success of the fifth and sixth films, "Furious
7" was given a larger budget that, after the death of Paul Walker, quickly grew to $250 million for
digital recreations and reshoots. The following film, "The Fate of the Furious," was granted a
similar budget, while the next two franchise installments, "Hobbs & Shaw" and "F9," cost
$200 million each. These budgets were a far cry from the original film's budget of $38 million.
As the first part of a greater franchise finale, "The Wrap" reported that the new film's budget
is pushing $340 million, making it one of the most expensive films ever made. In comparison,
"Avengers: Endgame" had a budget of $356 million and the budget for James Cameron's "Avatar:
The Way of Water" was reported to be somewhere around $350 million.
Though "Fast X" is less expensive than those two, it's still more costly than popular blockbusters
including "Avengers: Infinity War" or "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End." Exact numbers
aside, the point is that "Fast X" will be huge, and while a big budget does not necessarily equal
a hit, we can hope that the extra cash will be used wisely to bring the story to life.
If one thing is obvious about "The Fast and the Furious" and its many sequels,
it's that every new addition gets just a bit bigger and even harder
to believe. A film that was originally about illegal racing, stolen DVD players,
and one cop's infiltration of a street gang quickly shifted genres and became something
bigger than anyone had previously thought possible. In the sequel, Brian goes undercover
to take down a drug kingpin. In "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," everything changes,
focusing instead on American Sean Boswell in Tokyo as he falls into street racing.
From the fourth film on, the franchise found its voice as an adrenaline-fueled,
car-centric heist series, but it evolved into something even bigger from there, too.
"I don't have friends. I got family."
The franchise since has turned into a globe-trotting action series with ties to the
spy genre, with each film becoming increasingly unrealistic as the series pressed onward. However,
that's not what "Fast X" director Louis Leterrier hopes to do with the 10th
installment. The director told "Esquire" when discussing his vision for the film,
"What I wanted to do on this one, because it's very much my style, was to ground it more in
reality. I wanted it to feel like 'Fast 1,' 'Fast 3,' and 'Fast 5' — movies that feel grounded."
Whether that actually translates to the big screen remains to be seen, but audiences will
get a chance to see for themselves when "Fast X" comes roaring into theaters on May 19.