It is one of the most prolific and profitable franchises in American cinema: for more than twenty years, the public has been fascinated by the adventures of Fast & Furious. Each of the eleven episodes of the saga (ten films + spin-offs) pushed the boundaries of action to stage incredible action scenes with dream cars.
But another peculiarity of the Fast & Furious saga is its “family”, the name of which the group of heroes is regularly joined by new members. At the head of this family we meet the main character of the franchise, Dominic Toretto, played by Vin Diesel.
He appeared in all but one of the films in the saga.
He is the iconic hero of the franchise and the one without whom the saga cannot be imagined. And yet, it didn’t appear in every Fast & Furious! First of all, Vin Diesel doesn’t appear in the credits of the Hobbs & Shaw spin-off alongside Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. But consider this film as an independent part of the main saga.
Which Fast and Furious movie did Vin Diesel not appear in then? The most logical answer would be the third part of Tokyo Drift, which is somewhat a spin-off of the saga. Still, the American actor does appear at the end of the film, barely a few seconds of cameo, but it’s enough to get his name in the credits.
On the other hand, Vin Diesel did not participate in the filming of the second part, 2 Fast 2 Furious. A direct sequel to the first film, this feature film sees Brian O’Connor’s character (played by the late Paul Walker) start a new life after becoming an outlaw and allowing Dominic to escape at the end of Fast and Furious.
Vin Diesel turned down the XXL contract at the time
Originally, Vin Diesel was supposed to appear in this sequel. Therefore, two scripts were written: the first included Dominic Toretto and not the second. Convinced of this story, the American actor still preferred to give up the 25 million dollars that he was offered to participate in the film. In an interview with the site #legend In 2017, he returned to the reasons for this refusal:
I was an idealist and, for me, the script was not a continuation of the story. I told them, “If we’re going to do a sequel, do what Francis Ford Coppola did with The Godfather,” but that’s not what Universal was going to do. They were just capitalizing on the brand to make even more money.
It wasn’t until 2007, with Fast and Furious 4, that Vin Diesel returned to the franchise as the main headliner… but also as a producer.
An opportunity for him to be even more involved in the creative process of the saga: “I wanted to represent people of all colors, races, and nationalities to prove that their brotherhood is unmatched by any other group.”
You can watch the full ten Fast & Furious movies now on Netflix.
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Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
