Back in September 2015, Vin Diesel surprised everyone — perhaps for very different reasons — by saying that the ‘Fast and the Furious‘ franchise would be ending after 10 films. “Universal has been so good to me and so trusting of the vision,” Diesel wrote on Facebook at the time, noting that he had promised the studio “one last Trilogy to end the saga.” While “The Fate of the Furious” may be the eighth film in the franchise, given Diesel’s comments, it’s probably better to think of it as the first movie in a brand new trilogy. Your mileage may vary on how disappointed or relieved that makes you feel.
And with the final film only two movies away — that’s like, next week in Hollywood marketing time — it’s fair to wonder how Diesel et al. are going to bring this franchise to a satisfying conclusion. It turns out they needn’t worry. In an interview with Collider, franchise producer Neal Moritz discussed all things ‘Fate of the Furious,’ admitting that Moritz and Diesel had already sat down and mapped out an ending to the series. When asked about the next film, here’s what Moritz had to say:
Our plan is to go as quickly as we can under the idea that we gotta have a great story and be ready to go. And, honestly, 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.
For most filmmakers, nine movies would be an impossible dream, but here Moritz seems to be suggesting that “Furiously Nine” or “Fast Nueve” is mostly comprised of the “in-between” details that will help producers bridge the gap between the eighth and the 10th films. While that will change in the months to come, it’s still absolutely bonkers to hear that anyone in Hollywood has a 10-movie endgame, let alone a 10-movie endgame that will sail through production. Those films really are playing a different game than anyone else.