Vin Diesel Is Ending The Fast & Furious Franchise

Why is Vin Diesel ending the Fast & Furious franchise? Here's what the actor said.

By Apeksha Bagchi | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

Vin Diesel

While fans of the Fast & Furious franchise are delighted that F9 is finally releasing after a long wait and many delays, there is also the lingering dejection that the story is inching closer and closer to its end. Last year, it was announced that the franchise will officially end after the 10th and 11th movies in the saga. And now, the film series’ leading star, Vin Diesel, and F9 director Justin Lin (who will be returning to direct the last two installments) have shared why the decision to conclude a highly successful franchise was taken. 

During a chat with The Associated Press, Vin Diesel explained that all good things, including the journey the Fast & Furious franchise has completed so far, come to an end, and thus, the story they have begun deserves an ending too. Diesel reflected on the monumental success the franchise has seen after being “born from the pavement, from the concrete.” Even though the franchise has surpassed many other film series, it has a “soul” that needs to rest now. 

Seconding Vin Diesel’s words, director Justin Lin shared that the decision of ending the Fast & Furious saga was something they took together. With the ninth film in the series, the final chapter will begin and the next two movies will wrap up the stories of every character that fans of the franchise have loved and rooted for. 

But just because the story of Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto is coming to a close doesn’t mean that there won’t be any future films under the Fast & Furious franchise. Apart from the 10th and 11th films in the series, there are two additional spinoff films in development. A sequel to 2019’s Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, and a female-lead spinoff, that will most probably focus on the badass women of Fast & Furious film series. The latter is being written by Nicole Perlman, Lindsey Beer, and Geneva Robertson-Dworet. While there are no official details about the plot of the film, as per the exclusive report from our trusted and proven sources a few months ago, it will be led by Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty Ortiz from the Fast & Furious films and will be named after her character.  

Though the story of Dominic will be ending after the 10th and 11th films, Vin Diesel is still willing to return to the franchise in future installments. As per our exclusive report a few weeks ago, Diesel is demanding Universal Pictures to give him a whopping $50 million for his return. Given the steep paycheck he is demanding, it is probable that the studio will manage to bring back the actor only one more time after the Fast & Furious films wrap up. So, that effectively puts the lid on any future, major or cameo, appearances of Dominic in the franchise.

But right now, there is no point in fretting about a future that is very, very far away. The Fate of the Furious, the eighth film in the series, released back in 2017, after which the ninth Vin Diesel film took almost 4 years to be made and released. The 10th and 11th films in the franchise and thus, the end of the Fast & Furious films is still years away. So, for now, all we can and should do is focus on the upcoming release of F9, on June 25, 2021, which is going to be the first film in the franchise to send Dominic and team to space!