Christopher Nolan Reveals His Thoughts on the Fast & Furious Franchise: “Start With Tokyo Drift”

Christopher Nolan is certainly no stranger to making headlines, from his genre-defining work on DC’s Dark Knight trilogy to the record-breaking performance of his recent film Oppenheimer. Nolan has become known for sharing his outlook on various facets of the entertainment industry — and apparently, that extends to very specific views of the Fast & Furious franchise. During a recent interview with The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Nolan further expressed his love for the action-packed Universal franchise.

“I have no guilt about being a fan of Fast and Furious,” Nolan revealed. “[It’s] a tremendous action franchise… I watch those movies all the time. I love them! I am amazed you’ve never seen one,”

Nolan even gave Colbert recommendations on where to start watching the Fast & Furious franchise, arguing that a new fan should start with the controversial third film in the saga, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

“You do not need to watch them all in one sitting,” Nolan explained. “It’s only the last few [installments] where a very specific arc of mythology starts to develop… I would start with [part three] Tokyo Drift, and just watch that as its own thing, to warm you up.”

What Is Christopher Nolan’s Next Movie?

Following the smash success of Oppenheimer, many have wondered what Nolan’s next theatrical film will end up being. As the director explained in an interview late last year, his next film to hit the big screen definitely won’t be as dark.

“I definitely– part of me wants to leave the story behind,” Nolan explained. “I mean, it’s a great privilege to be able to talk about a film that you’ve made that’s now going into the home and on 4k and Blu-ray and all the rest. It’s great to be able to sit here and talk to you about the success of the movie. That’s a huge privilege. But the subject matter is very dark. It’s nihilistic. And, yeah, there’s part of me that’s quite keen to move on and maybe do something, you know, not quite as bleak.”

What Is the Next Fast & Furious Movie About?

It was previously announced that the franchise’s conclusion would be split into three films, with director Louis Leterrier returning, and Birds of Prey‘s Christina Hodson and Mortal Kombat‘s Oren Uziel penning the script for the next installment. The eleventh Fast film, which is tentatively titled Fast X Part 2, will be released in theaters on April 4, 2025. 

“April 4th 2025… is less than 22 months away,” Diesel wrote on Instagram while announcing the news. “I love how expressive and collaborative all of the actors in our franchise feel coming into the World’s Saga. Jason wanted to try something totally unique and special and ended up creating a scene stealing character that the world won’t forget. Thank you all for showing up like you always do…. 7 billion means nothing if it doesn’t represent the true feeling of family and loyalty. For those who didn’t know the FastX was just part one, know that part two is going to be an effort from our fast family and studio like you have never seen. All love…”