Over the course of the past 21 years, the Fast and Furious franchise has transformed itself from a movie about street racing and boosting DVD players to one of today’s most profitable and off-the-wall cinematic experiences with a slew of sequels, spinoffs, television shows, video games, and more. During that time, the movies have also gone from moderate box office successes to absolute juggernauts, with Furious 7 and The Fate of the Furious both eclipsing the billion-dollar mark worldwide. Even F9: The Fast Saga, which was released in a pandemic brought in a large chunk of change upon release in June 2021.
All of this is to say that the franchise is here to stay, for a few more movies at least, with its 10th main installment, now officially known as Fast X, on the way. But before you grab your Corona, Von Dutch shirts, and start tinkering with your Dodge Charger, here are some things you should know about Fast and Furious 10.
Fast X Will Be Released May 19, 2023
If we were living in an alternate reality, we would have already seen Fast X in theaters by now (it was originally slated to open on April 2, 2021), and would be talking about all the ways to watch it and other Fast and Furious movies streaming instead of discussing its arrival. But this is some good news as Fast and Furious 10 is now set to be released on May 19, 2023, which seems like one hell of a way to kick off the summer Blockbuster season.
Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Sung Kang And Other Members Of The Toretto Crew Are Returning
It is hard to say exactly how the ever-expanding Fast and Furious family will fit into the series’ 10th installment just yet but we do know that most of the major players introduced over the years will be back for exhilarating and one logic-defying car chase after another. In October 2020, Deadline reported that not only would Vin Diesel be returning as Dominic Toretto, but Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty Ortiz, Tyrese Gibson’s Roman Pearce, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges’ Tej Parker, Jordana Brewster’s Mia Toretto, Nathalie Emmanuel’s Ramsey, and Sung Kang’s Han Lue would all be back for another round of heart-stopping action as well.
During a June 2021 interview with EW, Vin Diesel revealed that franchise newcomer Cardi B will be returning as Leysa in Fast and Furious 10, this time with a more expanded role. In April 2022, The Wrap confirmed that Charlize Theron would be back again as Cipher, the cyber terrorist who is once again on the loose following the F9 ending. There’s still no word on John Cena’s Jakob Toretto though.
Jason Momoa, Brie Larson And Daniela Melchior Have All Joined The Fast X Cast
There is always room for more seats at Dominic Toretto’s table, and so it should come as no surprise that the Fast X cast just keeps getting bigger and bigger. In January 2022, it was revealed that Aquaman himself, Jason Momoa was joining the franchise in an unnamed antagonist, officially adding himself to the long list of furious villains that have tested the Toretto crew physically, mentally, and spiritually.
More casting news came in March 2022 when it was revealed that The Suicide Squad breakout start Daniela Melchior joined the franchise in an undisclosed role. But DC doesn’t get to have all the fun in Fast X, as Captain Marvel star Brie Larson, who previously pitched herself for the franchise, was revealed to be joining the Fast X cast in an Instagram post by Vin Diesel. However, it has yet to be revealed on which side of the Toretto table Larson will sit.
Fast And Furious 10 Will Be The First Chapter Of The Franchise’s Two-Part Finale
Upon its release, Fast and Furious 10 will be a part of something much larger than one supersized action-adventure film; in fact, it will be the first chapter in a two-part finale for a franchise that kicked off 21 years ago. When news first surfaced that Universal Pictures was planning to complete the Fast and Furious franchise (at least the mainline series) in the very near future, Deadline reported that instead of taking a traditional sequel model for the final two installments, longtime franchise director Justin Lin would tell one big story over two movies, starting with Fast and Furious 10.
No one attached to the project has revealed what exactly will go down in Fast and Furious 10 or if the 11th movie installment in the franchise) will even be called Fast and Furious 11, but the idea of having something akin to Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame in the “Fast Saga” sounds amazing.
Vin Diesel Has Said Fast And Furious 10 Is Split In Two Because There’s So Much Ground To Cover
The Fast and Furious franchise isn’t for everyone, but no one can take anything away from the way the series has continued to up the ante over the years, going from the streets of Los Angeles to outer space and everywhere in between. This need to constantly up the bar is one of the reasons Vin Diesel said Fast and Furious 10 needs to be told over the course of two movies, as he explained at an April 2021 F9 trailer press conference (via GamesRadar+):
As you know, we get to travel to all these wonderful places. And they’re part of the reason why Fast [and Furious] 10 has to be broken into two different movies — it’s because there’s so much ground to cover. And there’s so many places in so many locations in the world that we have to visit.
This “so much ground to cover” statement carries a great deal of weight when you think about all the characters and stories that will need to be tied up, in addition to the locations, before the “Fast Saga” comes to a close.
Production On Fast X Got Underway In April 2022
For the longest time there has been buzz surrounding the start of production on Fast X, with Justin Lin at one point telling Variety in April 2021 that filming would not begin that year, making it seem like 2022 would be the earliest the cameras would start rolling. That all changed in April 2022 when Vin Diesel, in the same Instagram post revealing Fast X as the title, announced production had started with a two-word caption: “Day One.” Exactly how long the shoot will last and where it will take the cast remain unclear at this time though.
Fast X Will Not See The Return Of Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs
As great as it would be to see Dominic Toretto and Luke Hobbs cross paths once more in the Fast and Furious franchise, it doesn’t look like it’s in the cards as Dwayne Johnson has stated that he will not be returning for Fast X or it’s follow-up. In July 2021, Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter he wished the cast and crew the best of luck on the Fast and Furious movies that “will be without” him. And I guess this means the franchise will miss an opportunity to have Johnson and John Cena face-off unless he shows up in Hobbs and Shaw 2, if it happens.
And it still remains unclear if Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw will return to the mainline series, though the F9 end credits sequence made it seem like we haven’t seen the last of the character just yet.
What’s Expected Beyond The Fast And Furious Movies
Even though the mainline Fast and Furious story will be coming to a close following the release of the 10th and 11th films in the franchise, this doesn’t mean the universe that has been created and built up over the course of the past 20 years is going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, there are multiple spinoff movies in the works at this time.
First, there’s the followup to the successful Hobbs and Shaw, which brought in $759 million worldwide in 2019, per Box Office Mojo. And while it appears we’re still some time out before we see the odd couple of the action genre return for Hobbs and Shaw 2, a sequel has been in the works going back to March 2020. Then there is the long-in-the-works female-led Fast and Furious spinoff, which admittedly sounds like the right call considering all of the great female characters introduced over the years.
When addressing the future of the Fast and Furious franchise during an June 2021 interview with Vulture, Vin Diesel touched on a potential story that has reportedly been discussed as far back as 2009’s Fast and Furious, but stopped short of saying if that story would be a prequel of spinoff, only saying:
I will say that there is nothing that is off the table.
That same month, Diesel told Variety that he had writers working on a Fast and Furious spinoff centering on Charlize Theron’s character, Cipher, though there haven’t been any updates since.
Tyrese Gibson And Ludacris Want To Take Fast And Furious 10 To Africa
Nothing has been revealed about any of the locations that will be featured in Fast and Furious 10, but if two of the most-tenured members of the Fast and Furious family know where they want to take the franchise. During a June 2021 SiriusXM town hall interview with the F9 cast, Tyrese Gibson revealed that he and Ludacris, who appears as tech-whiz Tej Parker, want to take the franchise to a certain African nation, stating:
I think me and Luda’s always had this idea, think it’s time for us to head to Africa. South Africa needs some love, some real estate and be in on this franchise. It could be really amazing to figure out something that we can do in South Africa. Cape Town, just somewhere that’s just got one of those beautiful skylines with ocean. Just the Fast and Furious package.
Later on in the interview, Tyrese Gibson explained how going to Brazil in Fast Five felt like a homecoming for co-star Jordana Brewster and that he thought it would be amazing to do something like that in South Africa.
We still don’t know exactly where Fast X will take the Toretto crew on their next and final set of adventures together, but expect to hear more about the movie, and the future of the franchise, as we get closer to the May 2023 release. In the meantime, check out all the 2022 movie premiere dates that will surely hold you over while you wait.