Fast and Furious

The Fast & Furious crew just added another new member to its growing #family, officially confirming Kurt Russell’s return in the process. And while Scott Eastwood will probably make a fine addition to Fast 8, Russell reprising his role as Mr. Nobody is just a bit more exciting, don’t you think? (Of course you do.) In any case, Eastwood has signed on for the upcoming sequel, in which he’ll share some screen time with Russell.

Furious 7 almost certainly won’t be the last Fast & Furious movie. But at times it feels like a series finale. There are numerous callbacks and homages to the franchise’s entire 15-year history. The setpieces are bigger and crazier than ever; it’s hard to imagine anyone topping them. And before the chases really get rolling, the mood is often downright mournful. Two different scenes are set in graveyards, and characters talk about taking “one last ride” together.

Helen Mirren is an Oscar winner and a multi-time Golden Globe winner. She has a few Best Actress awards from the Cannes Film Festival, and a couple Emmys as well. She’s a Dame of the British Empire. As far as actors go, she is amongst the most respected in the entire world.

Increasingly the Fast and Furious franchise has felt like a superhero franchise. A group of heroes with seemingly infinite strength and abilities taking on the bad guys and becoming a family in the process. It's like Avengers meets the Fantastic Four, but with a lot of cars. With the movies already up to Part 7 and Paul Walker sadly gone, the series can't go on forever. So, how do they continue the brand? Just like the superheroes do: with spinoffs.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Justin Lin was being courted by Universal to return to the ‘Fast and Furious’ series after taking ‘Furious 7’ off and giving the director's seat to James Wan. It was also reported that his return would be be part of a two film “grand finale” that would send this beloved franchise driving off into the sunset. But that second part is just plain silly. Have you seen the box office receipts for these movies? So it should come as no surprise that the studio has “at least three” more Dominic Toretto and company adventures in the pipeline.