In 2001, when Universal first released The Fast and the Furious, a street racing-based imitation of Point Break, they had no idea the value of the franchise they had on their hands. Just a few short years later, the Fast & Furious sequels would be raking in record-breaking box office figures.

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Moviegoers can’t get enough of the insane vehicular action of the recently rebranded The Fast Saga or its central ensemble featuring Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, and the late Paul Walker. The movies have quite a compelling background, so here’s a fascinating behind-the-scenes fact about each movie in the Fast & Furious franchise.

Eminem Was Considered To Play Brian In The Fast And The Furious

Eminem 8 Mile

When the main roles in The Fast and the Furious were being cast, Eminem was considered to play Brian O’Conner. This was a year before he’d proven his acting abilities in his semi-autobiographical masterpiece 8 Mile.

Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, who would go on to star in The Fighter together, were also considered. Paul Walker, of course, ended up being the perfect choice to play Brian.

Two Scripts Were Written For 2 Fast 2 Furious In Case Vin Diesel Came Back

Brian and Roman pose in front of two cars in 2 Fast 2 Furious

Universal actually commissioned two scripts for 2 Fast 2 Furious, one featuring Dom Toretto and one without him. It was unclear if Vin Diesel would return for the sequel, so the studio wanted to keep their options open.

Of course, in the end, Diesel decided not to return and the script that didn’t feature Toretto was used. Diesel only returned for a cameo appearance in Tokyo Drift in exchange for full rights to the Riddick franchise.

Channing Tatum Auditioned For A Role In The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift

Channing Tatum - GI Joe

Oddly enough, Paul Walker wasn’t asked to return for The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift because the studio deemed him to be too old. When the franchise was put in turnaround after the abysmal reception to Tokyo Drift, Walker went on to star in every installment until he passed away.

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When the film was being cast, Channing Tatum auditioned. It’s unclear which part he auditioned for, but it could’ve been the role that ended up being played by Lucas Black.

Fast & Furious’ Score Was Recorded In Three Days

Dom holds onto Letty on the hood of a moving car in Fast & Furious

Prior to the release of Fast & Furious, the fourth film in the franchise (and a soft reboot that set it on its course to becoming one of Hollywood’s most lucrative brands), Universal bumped up the release date from June 12 to April 3.

This meant that the post-production process was wildly expedited and composer Brian Tyler suddenly only had three days to record the entire orchestral score for the film.

Hobbs Was Written For Tommy Lee Jones In Fast Five

Samuel Gerard surrounded by cops in The Fugitive

The fifth Fast & Furious movie, Fast Five, introduced fans to Luke Hobbs, the invincible mercenary played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. But the character was not initially conceived with Johnson in mind; Tommy Lee Jones was the first choice for the role.

However, Johnson came into consideration when a fan told Vin Diesel that she’d love to see him in a movie with Johnson. Of course, the relationship between the two actors isn’t so great anymore.

More Than 100 Cars Were Destroyed During The Filming Of Fast & Furious 6

Roman jumps from one car to another in Fast & Furious 6

The producers of Fast & Furious 6 initially conceived the story as two separate movies. The climactic set piece of the first part would be the tank chase and the climactic set piece of the second part would be the longest airport runway in the world.

RELATED: The 10 Craziest Action Sequences From The Fast & Furious Franchise, Ranked

Eventually, the story was crammed into one giant movie. According to reports, more than 100 cars were destroyed during the shooting of Fast & Furious 6. In the next movie, that total more than doubled, as Furious 7’s production destroyed over 230 cars.

Denzel Washington Was Offered A Role In Furious 7

Training Day With Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke

Universal executives were keen to get a major movie star in a minor role in Furious 7, but they didn’t have much criteria beyond that. Denzel Washington was the first actor to be offered the part, but he turned it down.

The same role was offered to Halle Berry and Taylor Lautner before Kurt Russell was cast and the character was confusingly named “Mr. Nobody.”

Helen Mirren Asked For Her Role In The Fate Of The Furious

Helen Mirren as Magdalene Shaw in Fate of the Furious

One of The Fate of the Furious’ most refreshing additions to the ever-increasing roster of supporting cast members was Dame Helen Mirren. At the London premiere of Furious 7, Mirren sang the movie’s praises and expressed interest in appearing in a sequel as she could just have fun without having to act.

Vin Diesel heard about this and promptly had a part for Mirren to play written into The Fate of the Furious. There’s a similar behind-the-scenes story about Halle Berry asking the producers of the John Wick movies for a role in the third movie.

Keanu Reeves Almost Had A Cameo In Hobbs & Shaw

Keanu Reeves as John Wick

Hobbs & Shaw was bursting at the seams with surprising A-list cameos, from Ryan Reynolds to Kevin Hart. Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw had more run-ins with Hollywood celebrities than they had individual character traits. But there was almost one more cameo appearance, courtesy of Keanu Reeves.

Reeves was approached about possibly cameoing as the voice of the director of E.T.E.O.N., the terrorist organization pulling the strings behind the movie’s loose-fitting espionage plot. Dwayne Johnson spoke to Reeves about it, but according to Johnson, “it just didn’t feel right creatively,” and the cameo didn’t materialize.

NEXT: Everything We Know (So Far) About Fast & Furious 9 & 10