Vin Diesel's emotional tease for Fast & Furious 10 is an indication that they're on the right track to end The Fast Saga in a satisfying way. With F9 out of the way, Universal's car-centric franchise has entered its final stretch with a two-part finale. Inspired by the many two-part finales from the 2010s, Fast & Furious 10 is set to be the first half of Dominic Toretto's crew's final adventure, with Fast & Furious 11 capping it all off.
Debuting in 2001 with Rob Cohen's original The Fast and the Furious, the franchise follows a group of skilled automobile enthusiasts who have become a pseudo-family. While Dom's "la familia" originally started as street racers who also dabbled in small-time crime, their operations have evolved over the years. They've outgrown their initial operations and become essentially good-doers for hire. As with F9, Justin Lin is set to direct the remaining The Fast Saga movies. So far, plot specifics are still scant for Fast & Furious 10, but Diesel, who also serves as a producer in the film series, recently teased what to expect from the upcoming blockbuster.
Since F9 told a complete narrative with Dom patching things up with his estranged brother Jakob (John Cena), it's difficult to predict what's going to happen in its follow-up. That said, it's also increasingly clear that Cipher (Charlize Theron) is being set up as the franchise's final overall villain. Regardless of story details, Diesel's Instagram post, where he looks back at the journey making The Fast Saga while also feeling very excited about what's to come in Fast & Furious 10 is a good indication of their approach in making the movie. Based on this, it's safe to assume that the franchise is ending on an emotional note, as it should. The Fast Saga has run for two decades, across 11 films, with its core cast still quite intact, fans have invested so much in Dom's family. Add the death of Paul Walker into the mix, who could still factor moving forward considering Brian O'Connor's tease in F9, its finale should be poignant and maybe, even nostalgic at some parts, for it to be wholly satisfying.
Over the past several years, The Fast Saga has made a name for coming up with ridiculous, over-the-top stunts. F9 pushed it further by sending Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej (Ludacris) to space by strapping a rocket booster to a car and then bringing them back to Earth again, essentially unscathed. Given this, it's safe to say that Fast & Furious 10 and its sequel will up the ante when it comes to action sequences. But as interesting as they are, the franchise's backbone has always been its characters and their indestructible bond. Universal can come up with another implausible set-piece, but at the end of the day, the movies need to be grounded in real human connection. So, it would be best to also put a significant amount of focus on Dom's family. Perhaps, they could even bring back other members of the Fast Family to make it feel more like a culmination of the last 20 years.
Fast & Furious 10 can also look at what Marvel Studios did with the Infinity Saga when it comes to this aspect. While Avengers: Endgame delivered on its action, arguably its best moments are the emotional ones. They're also a large part of the reason why it's generally well-received at a time where most endings — be it on the big or small screen — have been disappointing.