Officially, the Fast & Furious franchise includes nine feature films, with the tenth along the way, and also a spin-off, Hobbs & Shaw (2019), which didn’t please Vin Diesel at all. However, that’s only section of the story: true fans know that the Gospel In accordance with Toretto has spread through animated series ?Fast & Furious: Spies at Full Throttle (2017-2021)?, video gaming, an attraction in every the Universal theme parks and several short films simply for the, very insiders.

The first of these has the incredible title of The Turbo Charged Prelude for 2 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and is, well, a straightforward prelude to the second film, centered on how Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) manages to evade the authorities. from LA until landing in Miami. The producers’ idea was to determine some sort of connective tissue between your first two installments and fill a narrative gap that, ultimately, consolidated Brian because the absolute protagonist of the story, since Diesel did not want to return. A mere promotional material created for the internet ?hence its aesthetic, almost worthy of a Sisq� video clip?, although some North American cinemas showed it before 2 Fast 2 Furious to give the public a far more complete experience.

While you won’t find anyone defending The Turbo Charged Prelude for 2 2 Fast 2 Furious as an essential little bit of mythology, things are very different when it comes to the second short. Los Bandoleros (2009), written and directed by Vin Diesel himself, introduces Tego Calder�n and Don Omar in to the saga, two musicians turned actors who would be essential pieces in some subsequent installments, especially Fast 5 (2011). Not only that, but it addittionally details what happened to the characters of Dom and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) following the original film, along with recovering Sung Kang’s Han, whose friendship with the paterfamilias had been established by the end of Fast & Furious: Tokyo Race (2006). More than an interlude between movies, Los Bandoleros is a refoundation of the franchise, a new beginning where Diesel allowed himself to look at a far more poetic and relaxed tone, commensurate with the natural settings of the Dominican Republic (where he himself, a reggaeton enthusiast, insisted which should be set). Fast X movie isn’t strictly necessary that you see it in your next fast and furious marathon, nonetheless it responds to the authorial vision of the primary creative engine of it. That makes it an interesting curiosity.

However, the story does not end there. Only the most dedicated to the reason know this, but there exists a secret, semi-official film that, thanks to director Justin Lin’s ability to slip under Universal’s radar, can be viewed as section of the experience. From the certain point of view, sure, but take our word for this: the crime dramedy Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) traces the origins of the type Han Lue, also played by Kang (can you imagine any other actor for the reason that role?). He and Lin have confirmed on multiple occasions that it’s indeed the same character, so there is absolutely no reason, other than the obvious and boring copyright issue, to exclude her from canon. In fact, their presence transforms this cinematic universe right into a more expansive and richly nuanced place: it’s funny to believe that while Dom and Brian were meeting in downtown L.A., the characters in Better Luck Tomorrow were living their own ordeal just a few feet away. kilometers of distance.

The story of how this indie film found its way into F&F is fascinating enough to miss. When screenwriter Chris Morgan heard that Universal was available to suggestions for a third film in the series, he showed up at his offices with a pitch about how Dominc Toretto decides to travel to Japan to research the murder of an old friend. Since Diesel was not yet interested in returning to what would end up being his family ? he only wished to make a brief final cameo following the studio gave him the rights to The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) ? Morgan contacted Justin Lin to imagine a new protagonist. The director thought it would be a great possibility to cast an Asian-American actor because the franchise’s new hero, however the producers flatly refused, arguing that someone like Lucas Black could have more potential at the box office. Lin reluctantly agreed, asking them to at least let him revise the script to make it less “offensive and outdated” (those were his words).