Although it makes sense to expect that the last two Fast and Furious movies will try to go back to the saga’s roots, Fast X is already proving that going back to basics has become impossible for the franchise. Fast and Furious is ending with Fast & Furious 11, but Fast X is being treated as the first part of the saga's finale as Vin Diesel himself has said (via Instagram). As such, the next Fast and Furious movie will have to work both as the culmination of two decades of Fast and Furious films while also setting up the franchise's ending.
The idea that Fast and Furious has to return to its roots goes back to 2011’s Fast Five. After Paul Walker and Vin Diesel returned to Fast and Furious for the fourth installment following two films in which the original The Fast and the Furious duo did not appear together, it became clear that there was room for Fast and Furious to continue. Brian and Toretto’s comebacks in Fast & Furious 4 had already been a lot more action-packed compared to when Dom was stealing DVD players, but the real leap in scale only happened in the following movie – Fast Five. A decade later, Fast and Furious is bigger than ever.
Fast X’s Budget Is The Franchise’s Biggest
The first major indicator that Fast and Furious will not be able to go back to the franchise’s roots is the film’s budget. Fast X reportedly has a $340 million budget, by far the largest for a Fast and Furious movie. As a comparison, F9’s budget was reportedly close to $225 million while The Fate of the Furious cost $270 million. Between Fast Five and Furious 7, all Fast and Furious films had stayed in the $100-200 million budget range. Still, Fast X’s budget is not that surprising considering everything surrounding the movie. For example, names like Brie Larson and Jason Momoa will join an already large ensemble cast.
Fast X also had to deal with a director change after shooting had already started, which obviously contributes to the film’s bigger budget. That said, an estimated $340 million budget puts Fast X close to event superhero movies like Avengers: Infinity War. Infinity War had an estimated budget of $316 million, meaning that Fast X will have cost more than Marvel’s most ambitious crossover event not considering inflation. Fast and Furious is now comparable to Marvel superhero films, a perception that will be difficult to change considering how huge Fast X appears to be. Even with such a large cast, Fast X’s budget also hints at an epic-scale movie.
The Fast and the Furious, the saga’s first movie, cost $38 million. As such, Fast X will have cost nine times as much as the first Fast and Furious film. Not only that proves how much the series has changed, but it also reveals that going back to basics remains a distant possibility for the franchise. Such a large budget assumes that Fast X will perform well at the box office, meaning that the movie has to offer a cinematic experience worthy of it being a blockbuster. Both Furious 7 and The Fate of the Furious grossed more than a billion, a reasonable expectation for Fast X’s 2023 box office.
Fast X’s Ensemble Cast Is The Series’ Largest
Fast X’s large cast informs the budget discussion, but it also connects with what should be expected from Fast X’s story. Ever since Fast Five, which combined characters from all previous Fast and Furious films into a heist crew, the Fast and Furious movies have had an ensemble cast. Brian and Toretto remained the main characters, but the duo was no longer the only focus of the films. Characters like Roman, Han, and Gisele became audience favorites, which contributed to each Fast and Furious film being bigger than the previous one. For example, after Fast Five, former antagonist Luke Hobbs joined the Fast and Furious family.
Likewise, Fast & Furious 6 brought Letty back, who then rejoined the Fast and Furious family. Furious 7 introduced Ramsey, the hacker behind the God’s Eye, and the character has been part of Fast and Furious ever since. That is not to mention other Fast and Furious villains who keep returning, be it as friends or foes, such as Deckard Shaw or Cipher. Even if all those Fast and Furious characters can only have so much to do in a movie, having several main characters means that the simplicity of The Fast and the Furious’ Brian and Dom story cannot be replicated.
Little Nobody’s Return Means Dom’s Crew Are Still “Special Agents”
One of the biggest differences between recent and past Fast and Furious movies is how, after Fast Five, the Fast and Furious family became special agents working for the government. In Fast Five, Dom and his crew were fugitives who had to be hunted by Dwayne Johnson's Hobbs. In Fast & Furious 6, however, Hobbs went to Dominic Toretto for help. From then on, Hobbs became a sort of Fast and Furious plot device, as he could point Toretto and his crew to their next mission. Having the Fast and Furious family working as special agents also helped make the saga more action-packed and less about cars.
Suddenly, Dominic Toretto was now a lot of people’s last hope to catch dangerous thieves or retrieve important technology. That new Fast and Furious tone became even more prominent in Furious 7, which introduced Mr. Nobody. Now, Dom and his crew were working with a mysterious agent who could take them anywhere in the world and give the Fast and Furious crew clearance to perform whatever missions. Mr. Nobody’s fate in F9 was left ambiguous, but the fact that his sidekick Little Nobody returns in Fast X all but confirms that Dom will continue being a secret agent rather than just a guy trying to make things right.
Fast & Furious Can’t Really Go Back To Its Roots For Fast X
With all of this in mind, it becomes clear that Fast and Furious cannot really go back to its roots for Fast X even if they try to. Fast X is the tenth Fast and Furious movie, but it is also the sequel to F9. That means the next Fast and Furious movie has to live up to the expectations of spectacle and big action pieces set by F9 and other recent Fast and Furious movies. As interesting as it would be to have a more introspective Fast and Furious story that emulated the tone of the first movie, it is too late for Fast X to be anything less than a cinematic event.
That said, Fast X and Fast & Furious 11 can at least try to stay close to the original Fast and Furious movies in the sense that they were very character-focused. Action sequences like Fast Five’s vault heist or F9’s rocket car will continue, but that doesn’t mean Dominic Toretto should be a one-dimensional character, for example. Perhaps what truly makes it impossible for Fast X to be like The Fast and the Furious is the absence of Paul Walker, as Dom and Brian’s friendship was the heart of the original movie. Still, Fast X and Fast 11 can be solid conclusions regardless of how much the saga has changed.
