It’s About Time: ‘Fast & Furious’ Franchise to Reportedly End at 11 Films, Justin Lin to Direct Final 2

BY: Denver Sean

Published 4 years ago

The ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise is nearing the end of the road.

The high-octane film series that began almost 20 years ago will close out at 11 films, with Justin Lin directing the upcoming final two movies, according to multiple reports.

via People:

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A spokesperson for Universal Pictures did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Lin directed the upcoming F9, which is currently in post-production, according to Deadline. The film is set for release on Memorial Day weekend 2021.

The franchise, which started with 2001’s The Fast and the Furious, has grossed $5.89 billion at the worldwide box office, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The last film from the core franchise, 2017’s The Fate of the Furious, grossed $1.23 billion and successful spin-offs have also profited, such as 2019’s Hobbs & Shaw, which starred Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham.

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The films, which were once centered on illegal street racing, originally starred Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang and Gal Gadot.

Over the years, the franchise shifted focus beginning with 2009’s Fast & Furious. The series transitioned more towards heists and spying and introduced new characters played by Charlize Theron, Statham, 53, Johnson, 48, Djimon Hounsou and John Cena.

While the plots for the last two films are under wraps, it’s possible the series could lead the characters into space.

In September, Rodriguez teased a possible plot centered on outer space in an interview on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show where she was asked, “Are you in space with Ludacris?”

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“Oh, no way! How did you guys find that out?” Rodriguez exclaimed. “See what happens? People start talking behind the scenes, man. When a movie doesn’t come out and forget about it, things get out.”

“Nobody was supposed to know that,” she added.

Following Rodriguez’s interview, Seth Rogen chimed about the first time he heard about the possibility of taking the franchise into space.

“About ten years ago, me and @evandgoldberg were with one of the producers of The Fast and Furious franchise. Evan said as a joke, ‘they should go to space!’ The producer looked at us, dead serious, and said…’not yet,’ ” Rogen tweeted.

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It’s time. It’s beyond time.

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