Start your engines: Fast and Furious spinoffs and prequels are in the works

By Stephanie Topacio Long November 16, 2015

Furious 7 the Fast and the Furious — Image used with permission by copyright holder

There’s no reason to slow down when it comes to Fast and Furious. After the franchise’s enormous box office success over the years, it’s no surprise that the studio is going full throttle when it comes to prequels and spinoffs. Vin Diesel, one of the series’ stars and producers, told Variety that the team has written out story lines for multiple characters as the team works on expanding the franchise.

It seems as though Universal Pictures is open to the idea of creating a cinematic universe in which characters have their own movies yet cross over as well, like Marvel does with The Avengers. “It’s an ensemble cast and there’s room to bring characters in and out,” said Universal Pictures Chairman Donna Langley.

As she points out, possibilities are rife. The action-driven movies feature a host of likable personalities — from street racer Dominic Toretto (Diesel) to Diplomatic Security Service agent Luke Hobbs (played by Dwayne Johnson) to ex-con and fast-talker Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson). Add in fast cars, entertaining one-liners, and tense action sequences, and it all sounds very promising.

“We’ve been playing with it for a long time,” said Diesel. “It’s a very rich property and we’re committed to treating it with a lot of class.”

So far, the team hasn’t revealed which characters they’re eyeing for spinoffs, but as Variety points out, Johnson has previously dropped hints that he’d be interested in exploring his character in his own movies. It could, however, be a problem trying to fit such a series in his schedule. The actor not only headlines the popular HBO comedy Ballers, he’s very much in demand on the silver screen and is currently attached to the Baywatch movie, Rampage, Disney’s Jungle Cruise, and more.

Whatever direction Universal decides to take with the franchise, its main focus right now is its outstanding Fast and Furious sequels. The eighth installment is coming up next, with Straight Outta Compton‘s F. Gary Gray recently being confirmed as director.

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Stephanie Topacio Long

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Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…

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