Luke Hobbs Rises: A Fast and Furious Story coming soon (maybe).
It looks like you can add Fast and Furious to the long list of movie franchises planning to become a “cinematic universe.”
In an interview with Variety, Vin Diesel explained that the series will expand through the addition of prequels and spinoffs focusing on individual characters.
“We’ve written out story lines for various characters,” Diesel explained. “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.”
While Diesel didn’t specifically say which characters would receive the spinoff treatment, Dwayne Johnson’s character Luke Hobbs has been rumored to star in his own film long before this news was confirmed.
Diesel also emphasized that the focus of the franchise right now is the development of Fast 8, which will be directed by Straight Outta Compton helmer, F. Gary Gray, as well as two additional numerical sequels.
This emphasis makes it appears as though Fast and Furious will adopt the Star Wars shared universe model, as there will be numbered sequels accompanied by spinoff adventures, a la the upcoming Han Solo Anthology film.
The Fast and Furious franchise is Universal Pictures biggest and most successful series. The latest film, Furious 7, has made over $1.5 billion worldwide, making it the fifth highest grossing movie of all time, a number which no doubt lead to fast-tracking spinoffs and prequels.
Good luck Fast and Furious. Your cinematic universe competition includes Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Transformers, X-Men, Ghostbusters, Jump Street, Lego, and probably many more to come. Hooray.
Fast 8 comes to theaters on April 14, 2017.