The Fast & Furious franchise has come a long way in 20 years, and what was originally a mid-budget series about a tight knit group of street racers earning extra cash on the side stealing DVD players is now a globetrotting action extravaganza that stretches the laws of physics, gravity and common sense to the breaking point in the most entertaining way possible.
Throughout it all, The Fast Saga has always been about family, which is hammered home by Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto grumbling the word about a dozen times per movie. That’s only set to continue with the upcoming ninth installment, and in a new interview, the leading man, producer and creative driving force behind the multi-billion dollar behemoth revealed that we’ll be traveling into the past to witness the origins of cinema’s favorite tank top enthusiast.
“The whole world has this excitement about this movie coming out, but for those who have been with the franchise, it’s even more special. Because if you can remember the first movie, you are now going to go before the first movie and understand the first movie even more…that’s cool stuff. I’m a [Dungeons & Dragons] head, so that’s like origins stuff. To see family members you never thought you would have seen – it’s gonna kind of blow your mind. We’ve been wanting to know: where was Dom before he became Dom? Who were his influences? That’s going to be really rich with story, and a lot of fun to see.”
A flashback will probably be used as a method to fill in some of the narrative gaps and explain why John Cena has suddenly arrived on the scene as Dom’s brother Jakob Toretto, who hasn’t been seen or mentioned once over the last two decades but has re-entered his sibling’s life and just so happens to be an expert thief, famed mercenary and expert precision driver. Convenient, right?
To hammer home the notion of family even more, the young Dominic Toretto in Fast & Furious 9 will be portrayed by Vincent Sinclair, Diesel’s 10 year-old son, although there’s no word on how large or small a part the flashbacks will play in the story given that the footage we’ve seen so far has almost entirely focused on the franchise’s signature blend of one-liners and insane action sequences. But we’ll find out soon enough, as the pic opens on June 25th.
