Vin Diesel Teases Ambitious Plans for Fast X: Part 2 “Precursor” (What Could It Be?)

Vin Diesel just announced a “precursor” to the next Fast & Furious movie, much like the short film Los Bandoleros that came out ahead of the fourth full-length film back in 2009. Diesel directed Los Bandoleros, and he is apparently directing a similar short to accompany the upcoming sequel to Fast X. In an Instagram post on Wednesday morning, he pointed out that the stakes are higher than ever since the franchise has a global audience, and this is its grand finale. Diesel hinted that this untitled precursor will film in the Middle East, with action scenes “deep in the desert.” Now, we can only speculate about what this means for the Toretto family as they head into their final ride together.

Diesel wrote that in 2009, Universal had asked him to direct Los Bandoleros “to explain where Dom had been in between the first and the fourth film.” He went on, “Now, all these years later, the request has come in again for me to direct the precursor, to the finale.” He went on to tease the location as the Middle East, but he didn’t leave us any hints about the story itself, or how it would tie into the cliffhanger from Fast X.

It makes sense that Diesel would be looking to keep his secrets close, as the final movie — generally referred to as Fast X Part 2, though it has no official title yet — is a mystery in itself. A hint about one could give away the other, and Diesel needs time for these projects to come together. He explained earlier this month that Fast X Part 2 was delayed by the wildfires in Los Angeles, but he does not want to move this massive production elsewhere, feeling that the local economy needs big projects like this to heal.

[RELATED: Vin Diesel Teases Groot’s MCU Return in Surprising Marvel Movie]

Dom Toretto made his debut in The Fast and the Furious in 2001, but he didn’t return until the fourth movie, Fast & Furious, in 2009. In between, 2 Fast 2 Furious followed Paul Walker’s character Brian O’Connor on another adventure, while Tokyo Drift followed an entirely different cast of street racers across the world. Los Bandoleros began connecting those stories by revealing the working friendship between Dom and Han Lue (Sung Kang), while also introducing crew members Tego Leo (Tego Calderón) and Rico Santos (Don Omar).

It’s an excellent 20-minute film that fills in some important gaps in the main movies’ story, but it’s not immediately clear what gaps need filling after Fast X. That may be easier to say once we’ve seen the full-length sequel for ourselves. Fast X Part 2 is currently scheduled for release in March of 2026, but if production hasn’t begun yet, that could still change. There’s no word yet on when Diesel’s precursor short film may come out, either.

Los Bandoleros was released as a part of the Fast & Furious special edition Blu-ray. It is not available on any streaming services at the time of this writing, including PVOD stores. At the time of this writing, the Fast & Furious films are scattered across Netflix, Max, and Peacock, along with a few other streamers.