It’s kind of crazy to believe that a smaller-scope street racing movie from the early 2000s now has ten films in its franchise, not including spin-offs. The Fast and Furious series nearly ended with its third entry, but was fueled enough for a little further drive. Then the franchise reinvented itself with 2011’s Fast Five as a team heist film and revitalized its staying power with more potential for sequels. And boy, did they capitalize on them. I feel like Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6 and Furious 7 make up for a fun action trilogy. Then, after Paul Walker’s unfortunate passing, the subsequent sequels lost a bit of spark. Now, we await for the close of the whole series with Fast Forever.
The Fast and the Furious may be heading to one of the most famous global film festivals. According to Deadline, there have been rumblings that the Cannes Film Festival would be opening its doors to having a special anniversary presentation of the first film. It has now been confirmed that there will be a midnight screening of that first film, which made stars out of Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez, on Wednesday, May 13, at the Grand Lumière Theatre of the Palais des Festivals.
The celebration will also have Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster and producer Neal H. Mortiz in attendance, along with Paul Walker’s daughter, Meadow Walker.
As a fan of the films, I am looking forward to/curious about the last entry. Vin Diesel shared the news about Fast Forever on his personal Instagram account, posting a photo of himself with the late Paul Walker in the original The Fast and the Furious film. “No one said the road would be easy… but it’s ours,” Diesel captioned the post. “One that has defined us and become our legacy… And a legacy… lasts forever.”
We know little about Fast Forever, though the sequel will be a powerhouse of Hollywood heavy-hitters with Dwayne Johnson (Luke Hobbs), Jason Statham (Deckard Shaw), Jason Momoa (Dante Reyes), Jordana Brewster (Mia Torretto), and Michelle Rodriguez (Letty Ortiz) returning to the franchise, alongside others in Dominic Toretto’s crew. Diesel confirmed at FuelFest over the summer that Brian O’Connor, played initially by Paul Walker, would return to the franchise. Previously, Paul Walker’s brothers, Cody Walker and Caleb Walker, helped complete filming for Furious 7, with Cody stepping in as his body double and Caleb assisting with facial capture. It remains unclear if Fast Forever will feature the same setup.