With there now being nine Fast & Furious movies in the series, all of which come with higher expectations with each consecutive release, it’s easy to forget the high expectations that came with 2 Fast 2 Furious.

RELATED: The 5 Best (& 5 Worst) Action Movies Of The '90s

On paper, the second movie in the series seemed doomed from the start, as Vin Diesel wasn’t attached to the project and the story didn’t follow on from the original. However, by tapping a director, who was more excited than anybody to be working on the project, it turned out to be a fun action movie, despite all of the changes to casting, the script rewrites, and some drastic changes to the characters.

There Were Two Different Movie Treatments

Rome laughs at his opponent before a race in 2 Fast 2 Furious

After the crushing success of the first movie, a sequel was greenlit almost immediately. However, the studio was unsure about Vin Diesel’s return. Instead of waiting to find out if he would come back for a sequel, Universal pulled the trigger and commissioned two movie treatments.

One treatment was the idea for the plot if Diesel did return, and the other was the treatment for the movie that exists today, without Diesel, as he decided to work on The Chronicles of Riddick instead.

Vin Diesel Didn’t Return Because The Screenplay Didn’t Have A “Francis Ford Coppola Approach” To It

Dominic Toretto stand in front of a street lined with souped up cars in The Fast and the Furious

With Diesel opting not to return and going on to work on the sci-fi movie instead, it was the disappointing screenplay that led him to the Riddick series. Fascinatingly enough, Diesel mentioned in an interview with Variety that he didn’t return for the second movie because it didn’t have a “Francis Ford Coppola approach to it.”

RELATED: Time Travel & 9 Other Wild Concepts The Fast & Furious Franchise Can Visit Next

Coppola, who directed the classics The Godfather, The Conversation, and Apocalypse Now, also directed one of the greatest sequels of all time, The Godfather Part II. It was unlike any sequel in cinema history, as the gangster follow-up further explored the characters instead of being just another action-driven plot featuring the same characters. Of course, Diesel would be the person to compare the Fast & Furious series to the Godfather movies.

Ja Rule Was Originally Tapped To Play Tej Parker

Edwin stands next to his car in The Fast and the Furious

Ja Rule was originally in the first movie, playing Edwin and being in the first race. It was planned for him to return in the sequel with a bigger role, given that his music career had blown up at this point and he was a much bigger star than when the first movie came out.

However, he refused the role because he wanted more money, which led director John Singleton to repeat what Rob Cohen did with the original movie and find a younger up-and-coming rapper. It worked out for the best, as Ludacris has great chemistry with the rest of the cast, and it’d be hard to imagine the series without him. And if Ludacris wasn’t cast, fans wouldn’t have “Act A Fool,” which is one of the best Fast & Furious songs.

Paul Walker Did All Of His Own Stunts

Brian and Monica in a Mitsubishi in 2 fast 2 furious

Though Vin Diesel is the face of the Fast & Furious saga and has a vibrant supporting cast behind him, Paul Walker carried the series for the longest time and was up there side by side with Diesel. Just as Diesel had a hand in producing the movies, Walker gave everything he had to the series, and that meant doing all of his own stunts too.

It was hardly work for him, as Walker was such a gear head, but from the first street race to the race to the impound lot, the late, great actor did all of his own stunts in the movie.

The Electrical Device That The Police Use In The Movie Doesn’t Exist

Agent Markham shoots an ESD harpoon launcher in 2 Fast 2 Furious

In 2 Fast 2 Furious, there is an electrical device used by the police called the ESD Harpoon Launcher. It’s a gun that shoots a harpoon with three prongs, and when it hits a car it disables it and causes the vehicle to spin out of control. It’s one of the things that don’t make sense about the series. As there have been so many car chases with the police in the time since, why wouldn’t they use the ESD Harpoon Launchers again?

It’s an incredible device, and it makes viewers wonder why there are car chases that go on for hours at a time when they can just use this nifty harpoon launcher. Well, there’s a reason for that. In the Director's Commentary, John Singleton reveals that the Harpoon Launcher was created for the movie and that it doesn’t actually exist.

John Singleton Wanted To Direct Because He Loved The First Movie

The cars sit at the start line for the first race in 2 Fast 2 Furious

There has been less of a focus on street racing in the later movies, and there seems to be one street race shoehorned into each film just to appease fans of the original movie. Well, Singleton wanted to direct 2 Fast 2 Furious because he’s one of those fans.

The director has praised the original movie to no end, and he is even on record as saying that he was jealous that he didn’t think of it first, as he had grown up watching street races in South Central L.A.

Devon Aoki Didn’t Have A Driver’s Licence When She Was Cast

Suki in 2 Fast 2 Furious

 

Devon Aoki plays Suki in the sequel, and her bright pink Honda S2000 is one of the more memorable vehicles of the movie. Suki and her car appear throughout the whole movie, often accompanying Tej and helping Brian in the car scramble in the final act. Sadly, she hasn't been seen since so many fans would have liked to see her get her own spin-off.

RELATED: Fast & Furious: 10 Questions About Dominic Toretto, Answered

However, Aoki had to go through some intense training for the role, as just like Michelle Rodriguez before her, she didn’t actually have a driving license during the production of the movie. In a behind-the-scenes footage of the movie. Aoki is seen in driving school, and she’s a bag of nerves.

Markham Was Originally A Dirty Cop In An Early Draft Of The Script

James Remar as Agent Markham giving orders in 2 Fast 2 Furious

Along with FBI agent Bilkins, who returns to the series after being seen in the first movie, Agent Markham is introduced, a much more hotheaded FBI agent with a short fuse.

He doesn’t see eye to eye with either Rome or Brian, but by the end of the movie they finally make amends. But that wasn’t always the way Markham was written. In an early draft of the screenplay, the character was actually a dirty cop and on Carter Verone’s payroll.

50 Cent Was Considered For The Role Of Roman

50 Cent walks through the street in Get Rich Or Die Tryin’

There is a long history between the Fast & Furious series and rappers, as not only have Ja Rule, Ludacris, and Lil Bow Wow starred in the first three movies, but 50 Cent was considered for the role of Roman Pierce too.

It would have been a very different movie if 50 Cent was cast, as the actor/rapper is generally much more serious than Rome, who is portrayed as an easy-going prankster. However, Tyrese Gibson ended up getting the role, and just like how Ludacris is inseparable from the series in fans’ eyes, Gibson’s charm is the flare of the franchise.

It Was Almost Going To Be Set In Japan

Han drifts through Tokyo in an orange and black Mazda RX7 in Tokyo Drift

At one point in development, Jeff Celentano was tapped to direct the sequel, and he wanted to shoot the movie in Japan. Whether or not it was Celentano that influenced the direction that the studio went in with the third movie, Tokyo Drift, which was set almost entirely in Japan, is unclear.

However, as Tokyo Drift saw the series delve into street racing unlike any movie that came before, Celentano’s treatment for the movie would probably have been a lot different and more drama-oriented, just like the first movie.

NEXT: Every Fast & Furious Movie, Ranked By Fastness & Furiousness