It’s hard to believe but it’s now been 22 years since the original “The Fast and the Furious” hit theaters, but the franchise isn’t over yet.
There are at least two more movies coming, number 10 and 11 for those counting, and the first trailer for the 10th installment, “Fast X,” was released on Friday. The movie’s release date is currently scheduled for May 19, 2023.
Filming started in early 2022 but the original director, Justin Lin, who worked on movies three through six in the franchise and then took a break before returning to film number nine, quit after a month, despite writing much of the script. Louis Leterrier, responsible for movies like 2005’s “Transporter 2” and 2010’s “Clash of the Titans,” stepped in to fill the director’s chair.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson also decided to quit the franchise after the ninth movie, despite some attempts by franchise stalwart Vin Diesel to get him back. In his place are new actors Jason Momoa, playing the new bad guy Dante, and Brie Larson, playing an ally of Diesel’s character Dominic Toretto. Beyond Diesel, other actors returning for another round include the previously confirmed Charlize Theron, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Ludacris, and now also John Cena and Jason Statham.
The trailer shows Dante coming after Toretto and his family in an act of revenge. It turns out he is the son of the Brazilian drug kingpin Hernan Reyes who was killed in the fifth film. Dante is expected to team up with Theron’s character Cipher, while it appears Cena’s chracter Jakob and Statham’s character Deckard Shaw both return to help Toretto.
There will be plenty of cars, too, of course, including the return of Toretto’s choice of ride: the Dodge Charger.
There isn’t much else in the way of plot details, though the movie plus the planned 11th installment are expected to share an overarching story that will wrap up the main plot of the franchise. Diesel said in a 2021 interview that the 11th movie—tentatively scheduled for a 2024 release—would be the end of the main storyline. However, that still leaves room for spinoffs like 2019’s “Hobbs and Shaw.”
