The Fast & Furious franchise continues to find itself in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Despite the last entry in the series releasing over two years ago, the next one can’t seem to find its footing. Vin Diesel continues to pressure Universal Pictures through social media and other channels to get the project moving forward, but the latest report suggests that the actor may be the one to blame for the delay. Not wanting to put the cart before the horse, Universal wants to slash the budget for Fast X – Part 2, which may not have been in Diesel’s plans, as all signs point to the movie acting as a swan song to the entire franchise.
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While the debate is likely to continue in the coming months, a resolution will more than likely be reached. After all, despite the volatility of the entertainment industry, Fast & Furious movies still find a way to at least break even. However, what both parties seem to overlook is that the franchise has already reached a natural conclusion if viewed from a certain perspective.
Fast X‘s Ending Sets Up the Franchise’s Biggest Story Yet
Fast X starts like most of the recent movies in the series. Instead of racing cars, Dom Toretto and his crew are acting as spies for a mysterious organization. Dom is tired of the rat race, though, so he relaxes at home until a major problem arrives at his door. Cipher, the villain from The Fate of the Furious and F9, shows up at his doorstep and warns him about a new player, Dante, who seems to have an axe to grind with him. At first, Dante seems like any other bad guy the family has gone up against, but he soon reveals the lengths he’s willing to go to win, and they Dom to his core. Dante gets his hands on Dom’s son, Brian, and kills his brother, Jakob, confirming that no punches are being pulled.
The rest of the crew is dealing with its own problem overseas, and it takes them a while to get to Dom. However, when their plane arrives within view of Dom, it feels like the good guys are going to win again. Surely, Tej, Roman, Han, and everyone else will land, save Dom, and give their leader the opportunity to dish out some pain. Fast X decides to flip the script, having Dante crash the plane and blow up a dam, sending what looks like an ocean’s worth of water toward Dom and his son. The fates of all the leading players are up in the air at the end of Fast X, which means a sequel is necessary. But what’s easy to forget is that this is the Fast & Furious franchise, where just about anything goes.
Ending on a Cliffhanger Would Allow the Fast & Furious Franchise to Do the Funniest Thing
The biggest complaint about the last few Fast & Furious films is that they’re a major departure from the original, which is all about a DVD player theft ring. Asking Diesel and Co. to tone things down after finding all the success isn’t really fair, as all they’ve done is bring in mountains of cash. But there is something to be said about going out at the right time. Dom and his crew have pulled a safe around Rio de Janeiro, stopped a nuclear war, and even gone to space. There’s really nothing left to do, so the powers that be could put all the cars in the garage for good by explaining that Fast X was really the last ride.
Fast X‘s most shocking moment comes when Gisel, who was presumed dead at the end of Fast & Furious 6, steps out of the submarine to greet Letty and Cypher. Instead of trying to explain how Gisel made it off the tarmac, Diesel could just say that she never did and that every member of the Fast Family is dead. It would be far from the most ridiculous thing that has happened in the franchise and would allow for everyone’s favorite drivers to continue their missions in the afterlife. That way, the story never has to end, and Universal doesn’t have to put out a movie it doesn’t seem like it wants to make.
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