fast and furious saga

FAST & FURIOUS Saga Swerves To Netflix

I’m inclined to wonder if Netflix’s plans for an animated serial spin-off to Universal Pictures’s hit Fast & Furious franchise will have the same trippy video game-esque visage as the opening and closing credits for the films. Apart from that, a press announcement on Monday is also revealing a photo that could lend a closer idea in that department which you can see above; I actually thought a live-action drama might have been the way to go for all of Vin Diesel’s moves to TV in recent memory, but I guess not. Alas, the streaming service is teaming up with DreamWorks Animation Television in this, the first series in an expansion of their ongoing multi-year deal for original animated kids and family programming. The update comes following Comcast-NBCUniversal’s acquisition of the animation studio in 2016 with the former maintaining a First Look with the option to expand on Universal film […]

Universal’s FAST Spin-Off Confirms David Leitch To Direct

Lee B. Golden III

Universal Pictures officially moved on Thursday to confirm David Leitch as the director of the upcoming Fast saga spin-off with Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. The news comes about two months since Leitch’s name arose with potential toward helming the film that would reunite the two cast members in their respective roles of Luke Hobbs and former soldier-turned-mercenary Decard Shaw since The Fate Of The Furious. Time will tell if whether or not this will be it for Johnson following his prolific, ongoing dispute with franchise headliner and producer Vin Diesel which Johnson recently resolved, mostly as a matter of creative differences. What is definitely known, however, is that with Leitch having proven himself co-directing John Wick and sitting at the helm for Atomic Blonde and this summer’s Deadpool 2, is that this newest spin-off endeavor is sure to be a lighting-fast, supercool action thriller. Further casting and crewing remain […]

‘Deadpool 2’ Director Being Eyed For THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS Spin-Off

Lee B. Golden III

Director David Leitch is the center of attention as of late with a career that has taken a striking turn from stunts and second unit direction to fulltime filmmaking after sharing the helm with Chad Stahelski for John Wick in 2014. Now upon following up with Deadpool 2, The Hollywood Reporter has it on good terms that the Atomic Blonde helmer is in talks to direct the hotly anticipated spin-off to The Fast And Furious franchise from a script by Chris Morgan. The film was announced last October in the wake of Universal Pictures’s April release of The Fate Of The Furious from director F. Gary Gray. The studio has garnered up to $5.1 billion dollars in global box office earnings which will undoubtedly increase as the studio plans the next two major installments for April 20, 2019 and April 2, 2021 with franchise co-helmer Justin Lin possibly adding both to […]

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Universal’s FAST Spinoff Starring Johnson, Statham, Dated For July 2019

Lee B. Golden III

Universal The addition of a long-anticipated spin-off certainly threw things in a refreshing gear for Universal’s Fast saga. Following a date change for the ninth installation from April 19, 2019 to April 10, 2020, Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham are set to reunite for their own film when it hits theaters on July 26, 2019. Johnson, who voiced his interest for a spin-off back in 2013 while doing press for Justin Lin’s Furious 6, has been with the franchise since debuting the role of D.S.S. Agent Luke Hobbs in Lin’s Fast Five in 2011. Its predecessor, Fast And Furious, was bolstered by franchise star Vin Diesel’s return to the fray in a starring and producing role with Lin succeeding his work on The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift. As the hit film series pivoted from street racing to heist adventures and high speed action, Statham emerged in the post-credits of the sixth […]

Universal On Deck For Hobbs/Shaw Spin-Off From FAST Franchise

Lee B. Golden III

Universal Pictures It was to be expected since its confirmation in late 2015, and now it looks as if things will officially take shape for the spin-off corner of Universal Pictures’s Fast And Furious saga. On Friday, new report from Deadline presented news on good terms that the studio is keen on efforts to manifest a spin-off that will join action movie stars Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham in their own movie with a script by franchise scribe Chris Morgan. The news comes following the latest release of the eighth installment of the high speed action movie franchise, The Fate Of The Furious, and while I won’t divulge the specific twists and details that outline the prospects of this union, the film did greatly in invoking a buddy element that would bode well for both actors in their current positive chemistry. Ironically it also comes in the wake of other […]

Opinion: The ‘Fate’ Of Scott Adkins And The FAST AND FURIOUS Saga

Lee B. Golden III

The hardcore fanbase cheering on martial arts action star Scott Adkins were vociferous in support of him obtaining a role in the months leading to the seventh installment of the Fast franchise, Furious Seven. Ultimately it never came to fruition, nor did the attempts to cheer him on for the role of Batman as it stands with Ben Affleck having earned his appeal with most fans now in lieu of Justice League and The Batman. I guess one other question remains now: Could Adkins snag a role this time in the forthcoming ninth installment following the pivot taken in The Fate Of The Furious this month? Well, I guess that will depend on what the studio plans for it first, although to be frank, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t, and there’s plenty of potential to go on. Gray’s film still leaves you wanting to learn more about Charlize Theron’s […]

Vin Diesel And The Curious Case Of The Action Star EGOT

This past weekend, we saw history being made. We watched in awe as Vin Diesel achieved the action-star equivalent of an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). With the box office success of xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage, Diesel is the first Hollywood action star to be the face of three action movie franchises simultaneously! In the past, action stars rarely got locked in to more than one action franchise at a time because they were franchises unto themselves. The closest that anyone has come would be Sylvester Stallone, who made Rocky Balboa, Rambo and The Expendables in the span of five years. Sadly, Rambo isn’t much of a franchise in the 21st century and Rocky movies just seem to happen organically these days (not exactly a bad thing). Van Damme, Seagal, Willis and Schwarzenegger all had about one franchise apiece while Statham couldn’t sustain more than two at a […]

The Final FAST Trilogy Gets A Release Schedule Through 2021

Lee B. Golden III

Actor Vin Diesel is currently in a “Xander state of mind” while filming xXx3 with a wicked cast. In the meantime, Diesel isn’t about to break consistency with “Toretto Tuesday” in lieu of all things to come with the remaining films of the Fast saga. Fast 8 is poised to film later this year rejoining Diesel with A Man Apart and Straight Outta Compton helmer F. Gary Gray and Neal Moritz producing for an April 14, 2017 release as per last year’s announcement. On that note, the actor went to Instagram late in the evening to share some big news from Universal Pictures in the following post, stamping official release dates for the last two films: A photo posted by Vin Diesel (@vindiesel) on Feb 2, 2016 at 10:51pm PST No plot details are available yet but several cast members from previous films are expected to return, including Tyrese Gibson, […]

The FAST AND FURIOUS Franchise Is Getting Prequels And Spin-Offs

Lee B. Golden III

With more than a billion dollars adding to the $3.78 billion milestone Universal Pictures left off with this summer, clearly the studio isn’t running dry any time soon. As such, the studio is well underway in developing a slate of prequels and spin-offs following this year’s stellar Spring success of Furious Seven. In an exclusive report from Variety, actor and franchise producer Vin Diesel confirmed that more films are in the works for the franchise in a fashion similar to that of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and what Walt Disney Pictures is doing for Star Wars. “We’ve written out story lines for various characters,” said Diesel, who starred in the first film in 2001 prior to starring in and producing the last four. “We’ve been playing with it for a long time. It’s a very rich property and we’re committed to treating it.” The report comes more than a year […]

FAST 8 Directors' Shortlist Nails Down To Four

Lee B. Golden III

The past several weeks have been pretty rickety with the development of the upcoming eighth installment of the Fast And Furious saga. Actor and series producer Vin Diesel‘s name has been one in the rumor mill for sometime now along with an array of contentious blurbs from around the web regarding troubles finding a director, issues which Diesel at one point made clear were non-existent with the congruent search for a director. Alas, the search continued and while Rob Cohen, director of the very first film of the franchise, The Fast And The Furious was up for the seat this go-around, it’s also been reported not meant to be. And with that, Variety now concludes the search is down to four directors: F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton), Adam Wingard (The Guest), Louis Leterrier (Now You See Me) and Will Eubank (The Signal). News also started picking up recently with […]

Dame Helen Mirren Wants In As A 'Fast And Furious' Villainess, And I Say Make It Happen!

Lee B. Golden III

I’ve pretty much spent the past two years I’ve been blogging as Film Combat Syndicate, in part, musing about the Fast And Furious franchise. No, my fixation wasn’t immediate upon the first film in 2002 – it only became so in the months leading up to this article I wrote in 2013, and to say the least, I stand by my fandom. That said, I love just how much diversity has gone into this cast and the immense scope this story has taken, from the streets of L.A. and Miami to Tokyo, Mexico, Rio and London, and a variety of talented actors and surprising new faces adding to the mix. Who would have thought that the likes of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Djimon Hounsou, or even Gina Carano or Jason-frickin-Statham would find their way into the franchise. It’s unbelievable, but the potential here is quite obvious even as we embark […]

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Justin Lin Reportedly In Talks To Direct Multi-Film FAST AND FURIOUS Finale

Lee B. Golden III

Lately it appears Universal is planning on going big with its franchises, and their latest movement on their now-growing cinematic monsterverse has been a sure sign of that. However, the biggest story right now is the buzz pertaining to director Justin Lin‘s possible return to finish off the studio’s biggest franchise to date, The Fast And The Furious saga. According to Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr., if the talks go well, Lin, who took over the franchise between the third and the sixth film, would be on deck to direct multiple consecutive movies that would ultimately wave the checkered flag and end the saga for good. The news has always been brewing for a long time with the possibility of multiple trilogies, even dating back when the franchise’s lead actor, Vin Diesel, boarded the property as a producer for 2009’s Fast And Furious; Those plans were temporarily stifled last year as […]