The 'Fast and Furious' franchise has three more sequels in the works. Producer and leading man Vin Diesel announced that they are also developing additional spin-offs as well as prequels.
According to Variety, Vin Diesel revealed that the team behind the successful franchise is currently working on sequels as well as additional spin-offs and prequels for the series. He said, "We've written out story lines for various characters... We've been playing with it for a long time. It's a very rich property and we're committed to treating it with a lot of class." The action star is currently serving as producer as well as leading actor on the upcoming 'Furious 8' film.
Universal Pictures Chairman Donna Langley confirmed Diesel's announcement saying, "We're certainly in conversations about how we can expand the franchise now. It's an ensemble cast and there's room to bring characters in and out." It remains unknown which characters would feature in their own standalone films.
Diesel is best known for his character Dominic Toretto. "Dom" was first introduced alongside the late Paul Walker's Brian O'Connor in the original 'The Fast and the Furious' film that was released in 2001. The fictional character is one of the lead protagonists in the series and sealed Diesel as one of Hollywood's most sought after actors.
It was previously reported that Diesel was working with F. Gary Gray of 'Straight Outta Compton' fame for an eighth installment in the series. Even though there are brainstorming for various spin-offs, 'Furious 8' and its subsequent two sequels are the main focus for the creative team, according to MTV. Gray was originally tagged to helm the upcoming Marvel addition 'Black Panther' but has dropped out in favor of a 'Fast and Furious' project.
According to GameSpot, the eighth film is slated for release on April 2017. Two prominent directors were originally attached to direct the film including James Wan of 'The Conjuring' and Justin Lin, who directed the third to sixth film in the series. Both filmmakers eventually declined to pursue other projects.
'Fast and Furious' is a successful American franchise of action films that feature illegal street racing and urban robbery. The series began in 2001 with a film entitled 'The Fast and the Furious' and eventually became Universal Pictures' biggest franchise in the studio's history. All seven films in the series earned a total of $3.9 billion at the box office.
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