This past May, The Fast and the Furious screened at Cannes to commemorate its 25th anniversary. The movie was shown at the Grand Lumière Theatre of the Palais des Festivals with Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster and producer Neal H. Mortiz in attendance, along with Paul Walker’s daughter, Meadow Walker.
But seeing as we’re all family, it’s crazy to think that Universal and Diesel wouldn’t let the rest of the world in on the celebration. Universal has now released a trailer for The Fast and the Furious‘ return to theaters, which will race in at the end of summer on August 21.
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.
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.