Officially, the Fast & Furious franchise consists of nine feature films, with the tenth along the way, plus a spin-off, Hobbs & Shaw (2019), which didn't please Vin Diesel at all. However, that is only portion of the story: true fans know that the Gospel In accordance with Toretto has spread through animated series ?Fast & Furious: Spies at Full Throttle (2017-2021)?, video games, an attraction in all the Universal theme parks and a couple of short films simply for the, very insiders.
The first of these has the incredible title of The Turbo Charged Prelude for 2 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and is, well, a straightforward prelude to the next film, centered on how Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) manages to evade the authorities. from Los Angeles until landing in Miami. The producers' idea was to determine a kind of connective tissue between the first two installments and fill a narrative gap that, ultimately, consolidated Brian because the absolute protagonist of the story, since Diesel didn't want to return. Only promotional material designed for the internet ?hence its aesthetic, almost worthy of a Sisq� video clip?, although some UNITED STATES cinemas showed it before 2 Fast 2 Furious to provide the public a far more complete experience.
When you won't find anyone defending The Turbo Charged Prelude for just two 2 Fast 2 Furious being an essential piece of mythology, things have become different in terms of the next short. Los Bandoleros (2009), written and directed by Vin Diesel himself, introduces Tego Calder�n and Don Omar into the saga, two musicians turned actors who would be essential pieces in a few subsequent installments, especially Fast 5 (2011). Not only that, but it addittionally details what happened to the characters of Dom and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) following the original film, along with recovering Sung Kang's Han, whose friendship with the paterfamilias had been established by the end of Fast & Furious: Tokyo Race (2006). More than an interlude between movies, Los Bandoleros is really a refoundation of the franchise, a fresh beginning where Diesel allowed himself to look at a far more poetic and relaxed tone, in keeping with the natural settings of the Dominican Republic (where he himself, a reggaeton enthusiast, insisted which should be set). It is not strictly necessary that you view it in your next fast and furious marathon, but it responds to the authorial vision of the main creative engine of it. Fast X movie makes it an interesting curiosity.
However, the story does not end there. Only the most dedicated to the reason know this, but there exists a secret, semi-official film that, because of director Justin Lin's capability to slip under Universal's radar, can be considered part of the experience. From the certain viewpoint, sure, but take our word for this: the crime dramedy Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) traces the origins of the type Han Lue, also played by Kang (can you imagine any other actor in that role?). He and Lin have confirmed on multiple occasions that it is indeed the same character, so there is no reason, other than the most obvious and boring copyright issue, to exclude her from canon. In fact, their presence transforms this cinematic universe right into a more expansive and richly nuanced place: it's funny to think that while Dom and Brian were meeting in downtown L.A., the characters in Better Luck Tomorrow were living their own ordeal only a few feet away. kilometers of distance.
The story of how this indie film found its way into F&F is fascinating enough to miss. When screenwriter Chris Morgan heard that Universal was open to suggestions for a third film in the series, he showed up at his offices with a pitch about how Dominc Toretto decides to travel to Japan to investigate the murder of an old friend. Since Diesel had not been yet interested in returning to what would become his family ? he only wanted to create a brief final cameo after the studio gave him the rights to The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) ? Morgan contacted Justin Lin to imagine a new protagonist. The director thought it will be a great opportunity to cast an Asian-American actor as the franchise's new hero, however the producers flatly refused, arguing that someone like Lucas Black could have more potential at the box office. Lin reluctantly agreed, asking them to at least let him revise the script to make it less "offensive and outdated" (those were his words).