Fast X is set to drift into theaters in just under a week on May 19, 2023, and will start to set the gears in motion to close out the high-octane action series. While Fast X won't be the swansong of the Toretto Family just yet, it seems that those working on this final chapter already know how the long-running franchise will end. Recently, Collider's Steve Weintraub had the chance to sit down to talk to Fast X director Louis Leterrier to discuss the upcoming film and revealed to us that the team working on these last few films already knows how the franchise will come to a close.
During the interview, Weintraub asks Leterrier if he and the team take into consideration what they plan on doing in the next film when making the current film or if the process is more akin to them saying, “Let's just do this, and we'll figure out the next one and the next one?” Leterrier, who is also set to direct what we will call Fast 11 (since the title for the film hasn't been revealed), says that the team does consider what they are doing in the next film since it is important that they make sure that certain plot points are set up for the next chapter. Leterrier describes it as planting the right seeds, saying, "The moment I read the script, how it unfolded and how it was like a reverse Fast & Furious, I asked that question. Then we started talking about it, and then, you know, I didn't know I was going to do the next one, but it was very important for me, in order to plant the right seeds, to know where it was going. So that's what we had to come up with, where it all ends."
He goes on to say that not only are they planting seeds for important story beats in the next film in the current one, but also that the team where the end goal that they are working towards is since they already know what the ending of the franchise will be. He explains:
What I can tell you is that we know exactly where the franchise ends today. We know where we're ending. The roads we're going to take are going to be different, but we know where it all ends, and I know as a fan it's both sort of satisfying and truly surprising. As you know, fan service is tricky because you want to deliver the right thing, but you wanna surprise the people, you don't want to give them exactly what you know everybody's expecting the Fast & Furious franchise, where it's going to end up.
He goes on to explain that knowing where they are going allows them to plant the seeds for that ending in Fast X, saying, "So because we had that, and we identified that, then we were able to go back and then plant the seeds. And if you look at Fast X, so many things that are being said, so many moments that are being shown, are prepping you for that, for the very end."
Fast X Sets Up Possible Trilogy To End The Fast Saga
Fast X was announced to be the first part of a duology of films set to conclude the series with Leterrier, who took over directing on Fast X from F9 director Justin Lin, set to return for the follow-up. For the longest time, it was believed that this final chapter was set to be only two films, but in a recent interview during the red-carpet premiere of Fast X, series star Vin Diesel seems to suggest that there might actually be three films in this final arc of films. While this hasn't been confirmed in any official capacity, this would mean that the franchise would close out with a total of 12 films rather than the previously believed 11 with the hypothetical twelfth film likely coming out sometime after 2025 since that has been the date teased by Diesel in the past, though Fast 11 does not have an official release date announced as of yet.
Fast X is set to arrive in theaters on May 19, 2023. Look for our full conversation with Leterrier later this week.