The Fast Saga has long been rumored to take the franchise to space, and now, with the latest F9 trailer, it’s time to examine the rocket car that takes them there. Set to release on June 25, 2021, F9 marks the second film without Paul Walker as well as the return of director Justin Lin. Also returning is Sung Kang’s character, Han, thought to be dead after the events of Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift. It seems F9 has several major surprises in store for Dominic Toretto’s team including the arrival of Dom's brother Jakob (John Cena).
While the saga saw humble beginnings in 2001 with The Fast and the Furious, a run-of-the-mill film featuring fast cars, the films have progressively featured crazier and crazier stunts. Immediately, Furious 7 and The Fate of the Furious come to mind, with cars parachuting from a plane in the first, and remotely controlled vehicles rampaging through New York City in the latter. In the films, this heightened reality is the result of ever-advancing technology, funding, and notoriety that the team continues to find. It’s this ostentatious reality that has transformed the franchise into the billion-dollar beast that it is.
As mentioned, the notion of Toretto’s team heading into space is nothing new. It was initially joked about by screenwriter Chris Morgan in 2017 and continued as a running joke, until 2020, when suddenly, actors began to give credence to the notion of space and, with the release of the first trailer, audiences got their first glimpse at a rocket-powered car driven by Roman (Tyrese Gibson). Now, any doubt of the franchise’s future in space can be put to bed, as the second official trailer explicitly shows Roman and Tej (Ludacris) taking flight in a rocket car that looks suspiciously like a suped-up Back To The Future-style DeLorean. In fact, the car, believed to be the same car Roman drives in the first trailer, is a modified Pontiac Fiero fitted with new rocket engines.
The Fiero was manufactured from 1984 to 1988 and is most memorable for its numerous recalls and dubious safety record, as they tended to catch fire. It’s fitting that this be the car that takes The Fast Saga to space as it provides ample opportunity for Roman to land a joke or two. While the first trailer showed a single rocket attached to the top of the car, the second trailer provides a better look at what has been done to the vehicle.
Audiences will first notice Roman and Tej’s makeshift space suits held together with duct-tape, a classic tank of Nos, the silver insulation lining the car. The insulation paired with the switches and buttons is reminiscent of early space capsules, albeit a very crude interpretation. As the sequence continues, their vehicle detaches from a large plane offering a better look at the exterior modifications. Aside from the obvious reinforcements to the rocket car, whose inspiration appears to come from Dom's son and its windows, there also appears to be some sort of heat shield on the hood, three large rockets, and two fins on either side of the vehicle.
The rocket car clearly mimics NASA’s space shuttles, down to the design of the rockets themselves and how they are affixed to the vehicle. In fact, in the last frames of the trailer there appear to be additional rockets underneath the car. These could act as second-stage rockets as they near the top of the atmosphere to complete whatever their mission may be. None of this should come as a surprise given director Justin Lin has confirmed he consulted scientists on the design of the car. Whether or not Roman and Tej shoot into space or skim the upper atmosphere, Fast & Furious 9 is guaranteed to raise the bar for future installments.
