While developing the film, Universal completely departed from any street racing elements prevalent in previous films, to transform the franchise into a heist action series involving cars. By doing so, they hoped to attract wider audiences that might otherwise be put off by a heavy emphasis on cars and car culture. Fast Five is considered the transitional film in the series, featuring only one car race and giving more attention to action set pieces such as gun fights, brawls and the heist.
Fast Five was initially conceived to conclude the franchise, but following strong box office performance and high critical praise, Universal proceeded to develop a sixth installment. Furthermore, the film is noted for the addition of Dwayne Johnson to the cast, whose performance was critically praised. In 2000, actor Paul Walker had worked with director Rob Cohen on The Skulls. Cohen secured a deal with producer Neal H. Moritz for an untitled action film for Universal Pictures, and approached Walker and asked him to suggest his "dream" action film; Walker suggested a mash-up of the films Days of Thunder and Donnie Brasco .
Upon hearing this, Walker signed on immediately; finding his co-star proved difficult. The studio warmed toward the idea of Timothy Olyphant in the role of Dominic Toretto, due to the success of the blockbuster Gone in 60 Seconds , but he declined. Moritz persisted on Vin Diesel following his performance in Pitch Black , with Diesel accepting after proposing several script changes. Moritz had difficulty choosing between the titles Racer X, Redline, Race Wars and Street Wars, but was ultimately inspired by a documentary on American International Pictures, which included the 1954 film The Fast and the Furious. Moritz was traded use of some stock footage to its director, Roger Corman, in exchange for a license to use the title. Upon release in June 2001, the film shattered box office expectations and a 2002 sequel was green-lit by September.
The toll of multiple re-shoots dissuaded Wan from returning to the franchise and Universal hired F. This film was to begin a new trilogy, which will conclude the franchise. Diesel announced that introducing Kurt Russell and Charlize Theron as characters in Furious 7 would help to reach this. The film was released in 2017 and received mixed reviews from critics, many of whom praised the performances and action sequences, but criticized the storyline and the long running time. It was an unabashed commercial success, grossing over $1.2 billion worldwide.
Universal later announced that final two films will be released in May 2020 and April 2021, with Lin returning to direct. It was announced that Brewster would reprise her role as Mia Toretto, while screenwriter Daniel Casey was hired for the ninth film; F9 is the first film since Tokyo Drift not to be written by Morgan. Pre-production began in February 2019 in London, and filming began in June and concluded in November. John Cena was cast as the film's villain, portraying Jakob Toretto, Dom's brother. Moreover, Sung Kang returned as Han, while the film is the first to star Helen Mirren and saw Lucas Black reprise his role as Sean Boswell from Tokyo Drift. F9 was originally scheduled to be theatrically released on May 22, 2020, but was pushed back a year to April 2, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was then pushed back to May 28, 2021, and finally released in the United States on June 25. Universal lacked a major event film for 2014 and rushed Furious 7 into pre-production in mid-2013 due to its status as a bankable asset. Lin decided not to return to direct the seventh film, as he was still performing post-production on Fast & Furious 6. James Wan, primarily known for horror films, took over directorial duties. On November 30, 2013, Walker died in a single-vehicle crash, with filming only half-completed. Following Walker's death, filming was delayed for script rewrites and his brothers, Caleb and Cody, were used as stand-ins to complete his remaining scenes.
The script rewrites completed the story arcs of both Walker and Brewster's characters. Visual effects company Weta Digital was hired to re-create Walker's likeness. Ultimately, the film's delays saw it being released in April 2015, where it became the highest-grossing film in the franchise, grossing $1.5 billion. It was also the most critically successful, with praise being aimed at the film's action sequences and its emotional tribute to Walker. Universal'sFast & Furious franchise has become a massive hit over the last decade. From the humble beginnings of street racing and small crimes, the Fast Sagahas become a giant action blockbuster series filled with increasingly unbelievable stunts and plots.
Throughout it all, theFast & Furious movies have mostly remained committed to retaining a core group of characters. Away from the franchise, Diesel made a string of box office or critical flops, including The Chronicles of Riddick , The Pacifier and Find Me Guilty . After discussions with Universal, the pair shared an interest in reviving the series. After signing Diesel and confirming the return of Lin, Universal worked to track the first film's original co-stars and re-signed Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster in mid-2008. Walker was initially reluctant to rejoin the franchise after six years, but Diesel assured him that film would be considered the first "true" sequel. Morgan returned to write after the critical praise for the character Han Lue.
Given the apparent death of the character in the third film, the timeline of the franchise was altered to account for his appearance. With the emphasis on car culture toned down, the fourth film, Fast & Furious, was a commercial success. Although critical reception was mixed, it reinvigorated the franchise, as well as the star power of Diesel and Walker. Universal attempted to bring back Diesel for the third installment, but he again declined due to other projects and a dislike for the script.
After failing to secure the returns of Walker or any other member of the original cast, Universal ordered a reboot of the franchise. It is the first film in the series to start its tradition of filming in locations outside the United States. Moritz returned and hired director Justin Lin, having been impressed with Lin's work for the film Better Luck Tomorrow , which shared similar elements with Tokyo Drift. Moreover, the series were able to bring Diesel in for a cameo appearance, in exchange for letting the actor's production company acquire the rights to the Riddick character. The third film was the least financially successful of the franchise, received lukewarm reception and left the future of the franchise in limbo. But as a refresher for new listeners, in case Bow Wow decided he wanted to tune in to this one for no particular reason, ahead of the June 25th release of F9, it's finally coming, we're bingeing all of the Fast movies with the family themselves.
We've already chatted with Vin Diesel and Ludacris, so you can go back and check those out. But today it's the new DK himself, and no, that doesn't stand for Donkey Kong. We've got Lucas Black aka Sean Boswell on the show to talk about the third film. Which as we said, has had quite the journey since its released in 2006. For the ninth installment in the series,F9 tells the next chapter in the story of Dominic Toretto and his formidable crew. The movie takes place years after the events ofThe Fate of the Furious and once again puts Dom's team at the center of a crisis that could change the world.
The film's villain, Dom's secret brother Jakob, has a plan to activate a device that will take control of any device on Earth that runs on code. This story not only raises the stakes of theFast & Furious franchise but also continues the exploration of the importance of family. Tokyo Drift also added screenwriter Chris Morgan to the franchise, and he wrote every film between Tokyo Drift and Hobbs & Shaw, though he didn't return for F9. It didn't feature Dom's love interest Letty or Dom's sister (and later Brian's wife) Mia , or any of the new characters Brian met in 2 Fast. The movie's all-new ensemble made it easy to imagine a long series of diminishing returns for Fast & Furious, if the franchise continued at all. Tokyo Drift remains its box office nadir, so everything petering out after that film was a distinct possibility.
An endless series of cheap sequels set around the globe, with casts of inexpensive actors and some cool car stunts, was completely plausible. Fast & Furious is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with illegal street racing, heists, spies and family. The franchise also includes short films, a television series, live shows, video games and theme park attractions. In celebration on the release of the latest installment of the "Fast & Furious" film franchise, we thought would spotlight some incredible cast members, who also happen to be massive dog lovers.
Careening our way fast and furious is another "Fast & Furious." The ninth in a franchise series, it's crashes, smashes, trashes and bashes. Who, in a 15th incarnation, might eventually gum the enemy to death. Then, there's the question of individuals who may or may not return. One thing we know for certain is that Dwayne Johnson will not reprise his role as Luke Hobbs. The actor had a high-profile, real-life feud with Vin Diesel during the production of "The Fate of the Furious," and as a result, Johnson has largely moved on from the main "Fast and Furious" movies.
It's possible he could still return as Hobbs for another "Hobbs & Shaw" film, but is not coming back to Dom's crew anytime soon. As for the other major wrestler in the series, John Cena has not confirmed a return as Jakob Toretto. However, with his fate left open-ended at the end of "F9," a return is still possible. Just being a part of the Fast and Furious franchise is incredible, and a huge success for me. Like I said earlier to have Tokyo Drift kind of be a standalone or different than all the other films, makes it unique. And I think the fans liked it, that it was a different style of racing, and it was about racing.
And it's not just an action or it's not all about just the action film, it's a racing movie. And so there was a lot of appreciation for that, and so that's cool. Well, my representation brought it to me, and then, read the script and was excited about it. And was really intrigued that it was something different than the other two, a different style of racing.
And then, after talking to Justin Lin, and just his vision for the film, it was exciting. I mean, I didn't think about it as an actor, being in a car movie, in a race car movie, but after getting the role and learning how to drift, going through the classes, they taught us how to drift. Like two weeks before we started shooting, we would go to Irwindale Speedway and we had the best teachers in the world.
With help from Walker's two brothers, both of whom are similar in appearance to their late brother, Weta was able to fashion digital models of Walker's face. They then combined this with actual footage of the actor to form a likeness to superimpose over other actors' bodies. The action movie series first hit cinema screens in 2001 with the release of 'The Fast and the Furious', starring the late Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner and Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto.
Walker's final appearance in the franchise is in 'Furious 7', though the actor unfortunately died in a road accident during filming. Director James Wan has spoken publicly about his wish to honor Walker's legacy and was keen to ensure that Walker's character left the franchise in a manner that respected his previous work in the series and felt natural to fans. (My brother-in-law has never done this, and I'm disappointed.) Being the actor the director can cut to when you need somebody to say, "OH SHIT THAT WAS RAD AS HELL! New characters slowly join the story as well, notably Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as FBI agent Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham as master criminal Deckard Shaw. By Furious 7, the movies have become so popular that they can attract actors like Kurt Russell (playing someone named Mr. Nobody!). Similarly big names Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren both join the franchise in the eighth film.
All three actors pop in for what amount to glorified cameos in F9. There are few other franchises like it in terms of ensemble star power. Tokyo Drift completes the first trilogy of Fast & Furious movies, but those first three films are largely disconnected from one another — they're mostly about cars going really fast and the daring people who drive those fast cars.
There's a loose overlay of drivers doing crimes — and breaking up crimes — but they attempt to maintain a vague tether to reality. The first two films center on undercover cop Brian , who uses his sweet driving skills to ingratiate himself to various folks law enforcement wants to keep an eye on, notably Dominic Toretto . It's not the worst, it's not even that bad, but the fact is every time I see it there's only a handful of parts I end up remembering from it. Racing through the tunnels is cool, Dom's quest for revenge has power, and the confrontation boiling into brotherhood between him and Brian is interesting.
That being said, the actual plot is weirdly convoluted with a villain who's just not that interesting, and there's a surprising amount of down time. I'm not opposed to drama in these movies, but in this case it's just not handled that well and can get a little boring. It was meant to bridge the gap between the Fast movies as street racing films to action heist films, and it ultimately accomplishes that.
If you're doing a marathon of the films it's narratively important, but it's not one that I feel the need to go back to for any other reason. Furious 7- It's revealed/retconned in this film that Han's death was actually caused by Deckard Shaw, who discovered Han's location thanks to intel he stole from the DSS. To avenge his brother's injuries at the hands of Dom's team, Deckard plans to take the crew apart piece by piece, and he starts by tracking Han to Tokyo, crashing his car, and calling Dominic at the moment of the car's explosion and Han's death. Deckard also leaves Dom's cross necklace by the wreckage, which is recovered by Sean Boswell along with a picture of Gisele. Sean gives these items to Dom when he visits Tokyo to claim Han's remains and return them to the U.S. for the funeral. Avenging Han's death is the driving force behind the team's motivation in this final appearance of Kang's beloved character.
Whether you're a die-hard Fast & Furious fan or you just really love Vin Diesel, there's no denying that The Fast and the Furious franchise has delivered quality action films for the past two decades. The chemistry between the characters makes the series compelling, but there's an unexpected sense of heart that may be from the real-life bonds made over the years. (The heartwarming sentiments after Paul Walker's death and the reappearance of former cast members in sequel after sequel speak to that.) But just how far have they come from their first Fast and Furious film?
We're tracking down the original cast members and our favorites throughout the series for a look at The Fast and the Furious stars, then and now. The films are well-known for their dramatic heists and expensive cars, but it's the huge ensemble cast that really bring it all together. Considering the threads planted in "F9," it's also worth remembering how much the "Fast and Furious" franchise loves its continuity. Though the franchise tends to tell a continuous story from film to film, it also tends to dig deep into its chronology to bring back characters and resurrect seemingly retired plot threads.
As a result, and knowing that the series has to wrap up its overarching story in two movies, fans can reasonably expect a dense narrative when "Fast 10" debuts. However, there are several threads from "F9" that will likely continue. Chief among these isCharlize Theron's Cipher, who remains at large and has a bone to pick with Dom after being foiled for a second time. There's also the question of Jakob Toretto's potential return to the franchise, as the long-lost brother of Dom made a face turn in the final act of the film and helped his brother's crew bring Cipher down. Finally, there's the showdown between Han and Deckard Shaw teased by the "F9" mid-credits scene. Without family, you cannot have a "Fast and Furious" franchise, so expect plenty of familiar faces to return to the series when "Fast 10" finally debuts.
At this time, Vin Diesel is the only official cast member listed on the "Fast 10" IMDb page, but many expect the usual players, including Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, and Ludacris, to return. Given where the previous film leaves off, it's also reasonable to assume that Charlize Theron will return as Cipher, and that Jason Statham will come back as villain-turned-hero Deckard Shaw. Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Justin Lin's "F9" proved incrediblysuccessful at the box officeand with fans of the long-running series. Dominic Toretto and his found family of crooks, street racers, spies, and all-around badasses went on another mission to save the world and managed to thrill audiences along the way.
However, nobody can save the world forever, and the "Fast" franchise is entering its final quarter-mile before our favorite street racing heroes ride off into the sunset. Coming into this, he had done Better Luck Tomorrow, which was definitely an indie darling, and had a lot of fans. Annapolis was kind of like, wasn't a huge movie, and Annapolis had its fair share of fans, but you walk into Tokyo Drift and the expectations are super high, just because of what those first two films were. And then you just kind of end up taking the franchise to new Heights, both literally and figuratively. So, yeah, I'm totally with you on Justin and Sung being our ultimate winners here. At long last, the ninth movie in the Fast & Furious franchise is coming to theaters.
But there also come a couple of game-changers, namely John Cena as Dom's brother and the surprising return of fan-favorite character Han. The series was never better than when it was centered on the central quartet of characters, however, and both Fate of the Furious and F9 suffer from Walker's absence. Walker's brother stepped in to help complete both Furious 7 and Brian's story within the franchise.
The further the movies get from Brian's character, the more it becomes obvious that Walker's ability to marvel at Dom's ever more outlandish exploits was a pretty significant tenet of what made the franchise work. Rather, the story of these films is about their characters growing closer and learning to trust each other a little more with every adventure. In D&D terms, they're a high-level party, basically gods within the world of the story but still fallible. In 2009, Fast & Furious kicked off the second trilogy of Fast movies, which ultimately brings together characters from across the first three films and notably reunites the core quartet of Dom, Brian, Letty, and Mia from the first film.
