Fast and Furious 9

One of my favorite things about the Fast and the Furious franchise is how it seems to have supplanted the James Bond series as the premiere summer destination for globe-trotting adventures. High-tech gadgets, mysterious government agencies, and gratuitous explosions abound; just around the time that Daniel Craig’s Bond franchise was becoming unbearably grim, Vin Diesel’s Fast and the Furious franchise leaned into its retro Bond vibe, undoubtedly aided by a cohesion at the production level. With Diesel serving as series architect, Chris Morgan writing each movie, and Justin Lin the steady hand behind the camera, the movies promised and delivered some high-caliber action.

Last summer, a spat allegedly broke out between Fast and Furious franchise megastars Vin Diesel and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson while shooting the latest installment The Fate of the Furious. There were rumors of unprofessionalism on set, Johnson threw around the term “candy-ass” pretty liberally, it was a hoot for all involved. But it did cast some doubt on Johnson’s future with the series; there was no telling whether the performer could be persuaded to return for another collaboration with a guy he seemingly couldn’t stand. But a new revelation today (well, new for all of you — Johnson and I are well-documented besties and have been Gchatting about this all week) clarifies the fate of this furious man.

Though Fast and Furious 7 seemed like an obvious, but tragic way to bring the franchise to a close, there was no way Universal Pictures was going to walk away from a franchise that was still bringing in over $350 million. So, Vin Diesel did what he does: he announced a new Fast and Furious trilogy last year that would end the franchise for good (and by “for good” we mean for a few years until they reboot it with a new cast). Fast and Furious 8 had already been scheduled for a April 14, 2017 release, but now Universal Pictures has given those last two Fast and Furious movies release dates as well.