Fast & Furious 10: What We Know So Far

 "F9" is now officially released in cinemas, now we can discuss about what's happening with part 10.

Who's directing Fast & Furious 10?

In October, 2020, It was confirmed that Justin Lin would return to direct the final two Fast & Furious movies and both are confirmed to be filmed back-to-back.

When will filming begin?

Vin Diesel has confirmed in an interview that Fast 19 along with Fast 11 will begin filming in January 2022.

Who will star in Fast & Furious 10?

It's safe to assume that we'll see Vin Diesel (Dom), Michelle Rodriguez (Letty), Tyrese Gibson (Roman), Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges (Tej), Jordana Brewster (Mia), Nathalie Emmanuel (Ramsey) and Sung Kang (Han) return for these next two chapers.

Lucas Black had confirmed that he signed on for three Fast movies in 2013, appearing in "Furious 7", and "F9", so we can assume he'll be back for 10 or 11.

Cipher (Charlize Theron) survived for the second time and will likely return against Dom and family.

We haven't seen the last of Jakob Toretto (John Cena) since F9's ending likely setup a sort of "redemption arc" for him.

Vin Diesel has confirmed that Cardi B will return to the tenth installment as of recent.

Justin Lin has stated that both Dwayne Johnson (Hobbs) and Jason Statham (Deckard) will return to the series as they are still part of the family.

Vin Diesel has hinted that Eva Mendes may reprise her role as Monica Fuentes.

We can also expect the return of past cast members like Bow Wow (Twinkie), Tego Calderon (Leo), Don Omar (Santos), Luke Evans (Owen Shaw), Kurt Russell (Mr. Nobody, if he's still alive), Scott Eastwood (Little Nobody), Magdelene Shaw (Helen Mirren), Elle (Anna  Sawai) and hopefully cast members from Hobbs & Shaw like Vanessa Kirby (Hattie), Eiza Gonzalez (Madam M) and Ryan Reynolds (Locke).

Though his actor, Paul Walker had died in late-2013, there is a strong possibility that the character of Brian O'Conner will return as Lin has stated that he is looking to for a respectful way to show Brian's presence.

No new cast members have been announced so far but Tyrese Gibson has expressed desire for both Matt Damon and Denzel Washington to join the franchise while Vin Diesel is said to be looking at Tom Holland in joining the franchise.

What's the plot?

No plot details have been announced but F9's post-credit scene hints about both Han and Deckard Shaw coming face-to-face.

When will Fast & Furious 10 be released?

Lin has stated that he does not intend to film Fast 10 until 2022, so we can guess 2023. 

F9 (Fast & Furious 9) Review (Mild SPOILERS)

Director: Justin Lin

Cast: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, John Cena, Charlize Theron, Sung Kang, Anna Sawai, Kurt Russell, Helen Mirren, Lucas Black, Bow Wow, Thue Ersted Rhusmann

We (the fans) have waited so long for this to come out after facing several delays, but now the wait is over. “F9” is the ninth Fast & Furious movies directed by Justin Lin who directed movies 3-6 and brings back returning franchise players Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Sung Kang, Nathalie Emmanuel, Kurt Russell, Lucas Black, Bow Wow, Helen Mirren and Charlize Theron with names like John Cena, Michael Rooker, Anna Sawai and Cardi B joining the franchise. 

So, the movie opens with a flashback to 1989 where we are introduced to Jack Toretto, the father to Dom and Mia who is killed in a race, an event that was mentioned back in the first film which I thought was a nice way to open the film. Flashforward to the present day, we see Dom (Vin Diesel) now settling down with Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and their son Brian Marcos and the father/son bonding between Dom and Little Brian is very touching and one of the films highlights. However, their peace is short lived when their team – Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris) and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) arrive and inform them that Mr. Nobody’s (Kurt Russell) plane which was carrying a now captive Cipher (Charlize Theron) had was attacked by rogue agents and had crashed in a fictitious Central American county called Montecinto. Dom then looks at the distress signal and sees that his long-lost, never-before seen brother Jakob (John Cena) is involved. The team arrive at the crash site and investigate what had happened and find the first half component of a device called Project Aries (the film’s McGuffin), but they are targeted by a private mercenary gang including Jakob, cue action sequence which is something we have seen in the trailers. Following that, we see the crew travel to Tokyo, Edinburgh, London, Tbilisi and not to mention Space.

The movie is pretty good, but not as good as 5, 6, 7 or 8, but that does not stop the film from succeeding and Lin’s return is a like a return to form for the franchise with the return of old faces like Jordana Brewster (Mia), Sung Kang (Han) and Lucas Black (Sean) to name a few. Compared to other directors like James Wan or F. Gary Gray, Lin is able give each character something to do, for instance, as I mentioned in my review for “Fate of the Furious”, I said that Ramsey didn’t do much only to being side-lined to being just a team member who happens to be a hacker, but in this film Ramsey is given more to do compared to her previous outings, in the scenes in Edinburgh, they give the character the opportunity to drive a vehicle which worked, and she’s given a lot more to do in the climax as well. Aside from the return of “Tokyo Drift” characters like Han and Sean, we also get see the return of Twinkie (Bow Wow) and a side-character from that film Earl, to remind us that these characters should not be forgotten and that “Tokyo Drift” is not the black sheep of the series as some pointed it out to be and these characters are not used for fan service and are given something to do which is way better than the cameo Sean had in “Furious 7”. Thanks to Michelle Rodriguez’s message of her not wanting to continue with the franchise if they don't give other female characters much to do, Jordana Brewster’s Mia is given a lot more to do than she had in the past films and is not there for an “extended cameo” or giving the team support. There is even a great driving scene by Dame Helen Mirren which was something I wanted to see for a while. 

However, the film has it’s problems, I felt that John Cena’s casting Jakob, Dom’s brother was good but it was just an excuse of casting another WWE wrestler in the absence of Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs, and while I like Cena, he is better with comedies than action films (though he was good in “Bumblebee”) and his chemistry with Vin Diesel just feels almost non-existent, but hopefully it will get better in future installments. Also his fight scene with Diesel was weak and not a par with Diesel vs. Johnson in "Fast Five" or Diesel vs Statham in "Furious 7" and only a minute long. Charlize Theron returns as Cipher and she doesn’t do much as she did in “Fate” and it just there to taunt Jakob and the other villains including Eurotrash Otto (Thue Ersted Rhusmann) and some of the action scenes were cliché to put it best, maybe they shouldn't have shown too much in the trailers, and there are too many supporting characters with some being used as fan service unlike the “Tokyo Drift” crew.

Overall, I enjoyed “F9”, but not as much as 5-8, but that doesn’t stop me from getting excited for parts 10 and 11 and the film’s post-credits scene has me excited for more to come.

Rating: 7/10

 

Vin Diesel confirms Cardi B's return in Fast & Furious 10

Rapper Cardi B will return for Fast & Furious 10 said franchise star Vin Diesel, who teased there will be more that will be revealed about her F9 character Leysa. The Fast & Furious franchise has had its share of powerful female characters who have held their own alongside the male-centric core cast. The films have progressed a long way from their initial installments where hijacking trucks and street races were the norms into a hero-based series of films. The supporting cast of women has at times, eclipsed the men in their ability to tackle difficult challenges. 

Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, F9 director Justin Lin and Diesel discussed Cardi B's role in the movie and how she answers questions about Dom's past. Both of them confirmed she'll be returning for the next installment. Check out their comments in the space below:

Lin: "I love Cardi, you know? I mean, it's amazing she showed up and within a minute she's part of the family, right? And I love how when I got together with her, her and Vin were talking about the character because she's actually really embedded into the overall universe, she's been around for a long time and this is just the first time we are seeing her, so I'm really excited to explore that character of her."

Diesel: "We are very much excited to evolve her character and to expand it to the finale. She made it just in time. She came in Fast 9 just in time."

While we don't know much about Fast & Furious 10, we know that Justin Lin will return to direct both 10 and 11, which will be shot back-to-back and we can expect the main players like Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Sung Kang, Nathalie Emmanuel and Lucas Black returning and hopefully the other franchise players like Charlize Theron, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, and John Cena will show up.

My review for F9 will arrive Thursday.

Source: ScreenRant

Actors who almost starred in the Fast & Furious franchise

 The Fast & the Furious is so much more than a movie franchise – it's a global phenomenon spanning nine soon-to be ten movies (counting Hobbs & Shaw) and a global box office gross in excess of more than $5 billion, with every passing sequel proving to be bigger and better (well, somewhat) than the last. From gravity-defying Abu Dhabi skyscraper jumps to high-speed submarine chases over frozen Russian terrain; nothing is off limits in the world of Fast & Furious, a 'Car Wars' saga that feels like it comes from a galaxy far, far away and is all the better for it. And yet few could have predicted that, back in 2001, a movie about the world of underground street racing, fronted by two relative unknowns, would have led to this.

Then again, nothing should surprise us about the Fast & Furious saga anymore. and that includes the incredible array of big names that came within a whisker of featuring in the franchise. Would any of the following taken Dom Toretto’s "family" down a different track? Read on and decide for yourself. 

Paul Walker was not the first choice for Brian O'Conner

Even though Paul Walker is sorely missed his casting in the first movie almost didn't happen. Before Walker signed on for the role of Brian O'Conner, other names considered were Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Eminem. When casting began for The Fast and the Furious, Eminem was coming off of two major studio albums, "The Slim Shady LP" and "The Marshall Mathers LP." Other than music videos and small cameos, the rapper didn't have much acting under his belt. That didn't stop the studio from wanting a big name attached to the project. It's unclear if Eminem was ever offered the role of Brian, but Walker took the role and Eminem's focus was shifted to the autobiographical film, 8 Mile. Eminem probably had no idea that the franchise would last for two decades and it's unclear if he would have wanted to participate that long. With 8 Mile, he found another outlet for his creativity. As for Walhberg, he would have been a good addition to the series.
Timothy Olyphant was the studio's first choice for Dominic Toretto


Originally the actor who the producers and writers had in mind for Dominic Toretto was Timothy Olyphant. However the actor declined the role and instead Vin Diesel won the role and the rest is history.
Mia was originally written for Eliza Dushku 
 

Having made her name as ass-kicking good-girl-gone-bad Faith on Buffy The Vampire Slayer and with an attitude-laden turn in the criminally-underrated teen comedy Bring It On, Eliza Dushku was enjoying something of a moment around the turn of the millennium – and the writers behind The Fast and The Furious looked to capitalize on it. Writing up the part of Mia Toretto, Dom’s feisty younger sister and love interest of Brian O'Conner, according to Entertainment Tonight, they saw only had one actress in mind for the role: Dushku.There was just one problem: Dushku disagreed. The role eventually went to Jordanna Brewster, best known for Robert Rodriguez’s The Faculty at the time, with Dushku returning to the role of Faith in Angel and later starring in the TV series Tru Calling and Dollhouse.

Ja Rule was meant to appear in "2 Fast 2 Furious" instead of Ludacris

Arguably the biggest tale of woe and regret to come out of the franchise concerns forgotten rapper Ja Rule, who must surely look at the Fast & the Furious movies with a sense of regret. Cast in the bit part role of Edwin in the first movie, 2 Fast 2 Furious director John Singleton revealed in an interview with Grantland that Ja Rule had had the opportunity to play the part of Tej Parker in the second movie with a major pay rise  – but said no. After being yanked around too much by the rapper, Singleton turned to Ludacris, who's since gone on to star in three additional franchise outings (for which he's surely pulling in well over a half mil at this point).

Channing Tatum almost appeared in the franchise

Without Lucas Black, the role of Sean Boswell could have been very different.  A few years back, during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Channing Tatum revealed he had been up for the part, only to blow it in the audition. “I don’t even know if it was — I blocked it out, mainly so I don’t remember the specifics. I think it was a combination of me being just bad, not remembering the lines, totally freaking out, I was probably sweating a lot,” he said.  Tatum still ranks it as his worst audition, but that didn't stop him from being a Hollywood A-lister. Then again he wouldn't be a bad addition to the franchise.
The role of Hobbs was originally intended for somebody else




The addition of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, baby oil and all, as Luke Hobbs in Fast Five was the shot in the arm the franchise needed after 2009’s Fast & Furious. Yet in the original plans for the fifth series outing, Vin Diesel and the film’s writers had designs on Tommy Lee Jones for the part. Jones had won an Oscar as US Marshall Samuel Gerard, the man on the tail of Harrison Ford’s Dr. Richard Kimble in The Fugitive, and he seemed a natural fit for what amounted to a similar role.
While Tommy Lee Jones was the ideal choice for the role of Luke Hobbs in Fast Five, the producers were also eyeing up Brolin for the part at the time, and given his performance as a no-nonsense DEA agent in Sicario, you could see why he would have been a good fit in the role. That said, Vin Diesel’s fans thought otherwise, lobbying hard for Dwayne Johnson to get the part, even if it meant rewriting much of what they had planned for the character. Brolin definitely would have been a good match for Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto in any fight, though.
Several actors were considered for Furious 7

 

Before "Furious 7" entered production in 2013, several names including Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone, Twilight actor Taylor Lautner and Academy Award winners Halle Berry and Denzel Washington were all reportedly offered role. Padukone, who later went on to star alongside Vin Diesel and Tony Jaa in 2017's "xXx: Return of Xander Cage" was said to have been offered the role of hacker Ramsey and turned it down. Berry was a suggestion by cast member Tyrese Gibson as a potential love interest for Roman, but she could have been a female version of Kurt Russell's character. And finally Denzel Washington was said to have been offered the role of Mr. Nobody, but turned it down, but still I want Denzel to join the franchise any day now.