The "Fast and Furious" franchise has been around for so long it's almost unbelievable that it could still have more installments. In addition to sequels, prequels and spinoffs are down the line, according to Vin Diesel.
Diesel previously said they're looking to make three more "Fast and Furious" movies. Now the franchise could be growing into a universe of its own, after the actor and producer revealed that their team are in the preliminary stages of the prequel and spinoff development. Story lines have already been written out for several characters, a move Diesel said will be treated with a lot of class.
There's still no word on which characters the prequels and spinoffs will focus on but Dwayne Johnson has hinted in the past that he's interested in seeing Luke Hobbs venture out into his own adventures.
Fortunately, if the cast is willing to build the "Fast and Furious" universe, they will have the support of Universal Pictures. Studio chairman Donna Langley has confirmed that talks are in place to figure out how to broaden the reach of the franchise, adding that an ensemble cast gives them room to bring in and out characters.
It's certainly exciting to imagine how these prequels and spinoffs could turn out but at the moment the goal is to finish the remaining "Fast and Furious" sequels. F. Gary Gray, who directed "Straight Outta Compton," will be helming the eighth film in the franchise, which is due to come out in 2017. After spending four years working on his last film, Gray said it's time to have some fun.
Does this mean even bigger stunts than "Furious 7?"
Perhaps not. Jeff Shell, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman, said that the franchise is now at its peak, with "Furious 7" raking in over $1 billion in the box office. However, it's not feasible to keep on continuing with increasingly bigger stunts. The explosive stunts will, of course, still be present but bringing in an amazing storyteller will also be great, he added.
Paul Walker's character Brian O'Conner will no longer be appearing in the coming "Fast and Furious" projects but Universal has said that the actor will still be part of the franchise, represented in some form in the sequels. After Walker's death in 2013, his "Fast and Furious" family sent him off driving into the sunset in "Furious 7."
"They took such a high road and allowed us to honor our brother in such a powerful way," said Diesel.
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