Tyrese has promised that Fast and Furious 10 will take the franchise back to its roots, and that is by far the most exciting update on the movie yet. Now officially titled Fast X, Fast and Furious 10 will be the first two-part story that will conclude the saga. Details on the story are being kept under wraps, but most of the cast of Fast 9 is returning. Closing a franchise that has been around since 2001 will not be easy, and the promised return to the saga's roots would be a great creative choice.
After two attempts to continue the Fast and Furious franchise without the Vin Diesel and Paul Walker duo in 2 Fast and 2 Furious (2003) and Tokyo Drift (2006), Fast & Furious (2009) reunited Dominic Toretto and Brian O'Conner in a film that reignited the series. Despite the return of familiar faces like Dom, Brian, Letty, and Mia, Fast & Furious was considerably different from the first movie, especially regarding the action pieces and the higher stakes. Fast Five, the movie that brought Dwayne Johnson's Hobbs to Fast and Furious, took that change in tone to the next level by placing Dom's entire family of pilots on a huge scale heist in Rio de Janeiro. From then on, the street race element of Fast and Furious became a second thought, and the saga shifted to a blockbuster action franchise with sequences that could be compared to superhero movies.
That change is inarguably one of the main reasons why the Fast and Furious franchise became a box office juggernaut that has drawn some of Hollywood's biggest names. Still, completely forgetting what made those characters and that world so interesting in the first place – the always creative street races and small scale heists – was a disservice to the origins of the Fast and Furious franchise. Now, Tyrese, who plays Roman Pearce in the Fast and Furious movies, has mentioned that not only they are aware of the audiences' wish for Fast and Furious to go back to basics, but that Fast X is actually doing it. What exactly the actor means by that is difficult to anticipate, but it is an exciting update on the film nonetheless. In fact, considering all the behind-the-scenes drama involving Fast 10's director change and budget increase, Tyrese's tease of the film returning to the Fast and Furious roots is the best news about Fast X yet.
Given the Fast and Furious franchise's current box office expectations, it is hard to imagine that Fast 10 could completely replicate the feeling of the first film. Tyrese's acknowledgment of the issue, however, reveals that at least some part of the Fast and Furious origins might be felt in the saga's grand finale. The months leading up to the Fast X production saw exciting announcements, namely the addition of Jason Momoa as Fast X's villain, Brie Larson in an undisclosed role, and The Suicide Squad breakout star Daniela Melchior all joining the Fast and Furious family. However, just a few days into the Fast 10 shooting, director Justin Lin – who worked on more than half of the Fast and Furious films – announced he was stepping away from the movie. In that scenario of uncertainty, Tyrese's update is Fast 10's first good update in a few weeks.
Fast and Furious' changes through the years cannot be reversed so quickly, but there is a way of bringing the franchise back to its roots, at least on some level, for the finale. Fast X and Fast 11 will have the difficult mission of delivering an ending that is big enough to justify the budget, but that also concludes the saga in a familiar tone. It is now up to Louis Leterrier, the new director of Fast and Furious 10, to find that balance.
