‘Fast & Furious’ News: ‘Fast 10’ Will Be Final Film — Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham Get Spinoff
Less than a week after The Fate of the Furious smashed box office records, news about future movies in the $4.5 billion franchise have been revealed.
In an interview with Collider, producer Neal Moritz confirmed that Fast & Furious 10 is set to be the final movie in the Fast & Furious series. While Moritz couldn’t divulge any details, he did reveal that he, along with producers Chris Morgan and Vin Diesel, have already discussed how to end the series.
“We have some big themes and things we’re talking about, we’re just not there in terms of where exactly we’re gonna go yet. We kind of have the ending point of the franchise, but we don’t know the in-betweens yet.”
Fans will have to wait four years to find out what the final outcome will be for Dom, Letty, Roman, Hobbs, and the rest of Toretto crew. Digital Spy reported Fast & Furious 9 is scheduled for release on April 19, 2019, while Fast & Furious 10 is set to debut on April 2, 2021.
Estimates show The Fate of the Furious has broken #StarWars The Force Awakens' record for biggest worldwide opening: https://t.co/ZU2F025IZ0 pic.twitter.com/JBpUGDBn5R
— Jim Vejvoda (@JimVejvoda) April 16, 2017
Despite the monster opening and release date news, many fans wondered if the rumored feud between stars Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson would affect any planned sequels.
Fans can rejoice. TMZ reported that immediately following the $532 million opening weekend for The Fate of the Furious, Universal signed stars Diesel and Johnson to reprise their roles in Fast & Furious 9 and Fast & Furious 10.
Shortly after filming wrapped on The Fate of the Furious, Johnson posted a cryptic message on Instagram that was quickly labeled as directed at Diesel. Fans, critics, and gossip sites have wondered what could have led to the quarreling. For more than six months, accusations of laziness, tardiness, and diva antics, mostly directed at Diesel, appeared on various gossip sites. There were also claims that the feud was actually a publicity stunt to drum up buzz ahead of the film’s release.
Diesel and Johnson’s feud had taken center stage during the promotional phase of the latest film. As Inquisitr reported, Universal executives split the stars’ promotional duties, going so far as to send each to a different continent.
Now we might have confirmation that the feud was real and what actually went down between Diesel and Johnson. According to TMZ’s sources, Diesel and Johnson’s squabble was not over laziness, tardiness, or even money, but something more prestigious in Hollywood – “real estate.”
“In movie language, real estate is all about how much an actor shines — who gets the best action scenes, who gets the hottest girl, who shows off their body more, and who gets the most face time. It became a big issue for Dwayne and Vin, but ultimately, Dwayne acknowledged it was Vin’s movie — he’s listed #1 on the call sheet.”
TMZ added that, with Johnson’s concession, the stars squashed their beef and quickly signed on for the final two films.
With the Diesel-Johnson feud seemingly settled, fans received even more exciting news about the long-running series.
Rumors about a possible Fast & Furious spinoff film having been floating around for over a year, with fans speculating on which character the film would center around. Johnson, who stars in next month’s Baywatch, is currently one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood. While the wrestler’s goodwill gesture will definitely play well with his fans, could The Rock’s concession have been prompted by his anticipation of a major announcement coming down the pipeline?
@AppleSupport hey, may I ask why there is no eyebrow raise emoji? It could even be modeled after @TheRock pic.twitter.com/gJKJJ2zAag
— Tyler Mathieson (@tylermathieson) April 22, 2017
Deadline broke the news earlier this week that Universal has decided to proceed with the spinoff. Johnson will team up with Jason Statham for the film. While the name and exact plot are unknown, Deadline posited that the film will see the duo’s characters work together, instead of butting heads.
“The idea is for Johnson’s U.S. Diplomatic Security Agent Luke Hobbs to form an unlikely alliance with Statham’s Decker Shaw for a movie that conceivably could be made while they are figuring the next Fast film.”
While Johnson’s Agent Hobbs has been a fan favorite since joining the franchise in Fast Five, Statham’s Shaw was the main villain in Furious 7. Fans were shocked when Shaw killed longtime Toretto crew member Han, as payback for injuries his brother, Owen, received during Fast & Furious 6. While Shaw has a moment of redemption in The Fate of the Furious, which we won’t reveal, the spinoff’s writers will have their work cut out in getting fans to overlook Han’s death at Shaw’s hands.
One Twitter user has a suggestion.
Are you excited or sad that the Fast & Furious series will end in 2021? How do you think it will end? Are you looking forward to the spinoff?
[Featured Image by Debbie Wong/Shutterstock]