The Final 'Fast And Furious' Movies Will Begin Filming Next Year, And "There's A Lot More To Come" Regarding Justice For Han
With F9 in the rearview mirror, fans are already looking ahead to the future of the Fast and Furious franchise – especially after this latest movie left us with such a tantalizing mid-credits scene. Star/producer Vin Diesel, director Justin Lin, and actor Sung Kang, who plays Han in the franchise, have offered a few teases about what to expect as the franchise rolls toward its grand conclusion, and you can read their latest quotes below. Light spoilers for F9 ahead.
The Next Movies Begin Filming in January
In a recent interview with Regal Cinemas, Vin Diesel confirmed that "I'm doing Fast 10, part one and part two, the finale of the saga, in January." His carefully chosen words seem to underline the idea that Universal is going to market this as one final story split into two films, rather than distinct Fast 10 and Fast 11 movies. Hollywood has had mixed results with splitting up entries of big franchises: one on hand, you have Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, but on the other, you have the whimper of the Divergent franchise that never even got to conclude its story. I think it's safe to say the Fast Saga will be just fine – and, of course, even though these will be the last movies in this grand narrative, this franchise will surely continue with more spin-offs in the future.
Justice For Han Has Not Been Served
We've heard filmmaker Justin Lin say several times during this press cycle that "Justice For Han" has not been served yet, and now Sung Kang has added an intriguing update to that notion. While the credits scene teases a confrontation between Han and Deckard Shaw, Kang explains that Han's real beef is with Deckard's brother, Owen. "[Justice] hasn't been served," he told THR. "It hasn't been served because someone that is dear to Han [Gal Gadot's Gisele, who died in Fast & Furious 6] is not here anymore. So how is that resolved? And if I find the man responsible for it [Luke Evans' Owen Shaw], what do I do to him? So we'll see." Could that F9 credits scene simply be a means to an end for Han, who hopes to learn about Owen's location so he can seek his revenge?
F9 Was a Recalibration
After the disappointing The Fate of the Furious, Lin got things back on track with F9, which helps turn the rudder of this behemoth franchise in the proper direction. "A lot of 9 is about introducing new characters, bringing back old characters, and in a way recalibrating and setting everything up to be going in the right direction as we are heading into the final two," Lin told THR in a separate interview. "We've been talking about it for almost ten years now. And I've always thought that it was just an exercise. I never thought we were going to do it for real. So the fact that when I came back Vin pulled me aside and said, 'We're doing it. We're going to end this thing,'— I feel great. It's not like, 'We have to react and do something.' This is something we've been talking about throughout. We have to take care to make sure that's fully supported."
Personally, I'm excited about the possibilities of Anna Sawai's new Elle character, who has spent years with Han that we haven't had the chance to explore yet. Hopefully we'll get to know much more about her and she will play a vital role in the #family throughout the two-part finale.