SINGAPORE – As the Fast & Furious franchise rolls into its sunset era, it can fade away knowing that its trademark gas-guzzlers have conquered the land, air and sea.
Today, in its ninth instalment, a rocket car blasts into space.
But there is one frontier it has yet to conquer: batteries.
When series star Vin Diesel is asked if his character Dominic Toretto, the intrepid heist-master, or any member of his crew would ever drive an eco-conscious electric car, the American actor pauses to think.
Then the 53-year-old responds with a laugh. “Anything is possible,” he says.
He was facing a panel of journalists at an online conference for Fast & Furious 9, which has sneak previews from June 24, before its official release on July 1.
With only two more films to go before the saga wraps in 2024 with its 11th instalment, there is not much time left for Dom and team to help prevent climate change.
In a time when even superhero shows are grounded in real-world issues – Marvel’s The Falcon And The Winter Soldier tackles the history of slavery and racism, for example – the Fast series seems stuck in a comic-book world of boys’ adventures and fast cars.
That impression would be wrong, as Diesel – real name Mark Sinclair – points out. The movies sent out their share of positive messages.
“The movies represent a multiculturalism that everyone followed up on. Of course, we’ve had strong female characters,” he says, referring to how it was a pioneer in diverse casting.
Industry sources have confirmed his statement.
Ever since Furious 7 (2015) became the first instalment in the Fast saga to cross the US$1 billion mark (S$1.35 billion), Hollywood executives have seen that ensemble casts made up of different races and featuring strong women do not just look cool, but also make money. This is also backed up by audience surveys that show the Fast saga’s popularity with Latin, black and Asian communities living in America.
In the films, brotherhood and family are determined by choice rather than blood, says Diesel. This is a message that is reinforced by the reintroduction of fan-favourite character Han, played by Korean-American actor Sung Kang, whose real name is Kang Sung-ho.
“The second Han comes back, you look at Han and Dom as brothers. That’s the magic of Fast,” he says.
In a separate interview, Kang, 48, talks about his character’s return after his apparent death in The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), the third film in the series.
While the fan-driven #JusticeForHan online campaign was pivotal, Kang also credits director Justin Lin’s efforts.
Bringing back characters at fans’ insistence carries risk. If the return is botched, the reactions might be brutal, he says.
“If you don’t answer certain questions and don’t give it justice, there’ll be retaliation. But I think Justin did a good job of grounding Han’s return. You don’t want to make it such a big deal, but it needs to be understandable and relatable,” he adds.
Film-maker Lin, 49, is friends with Kang, having cast the actor as the character Han in his solo directorial debut, the cult favourite thriller Better Luck Tomorrow (2002).
Lin later thought Tokyo Drift needed a cool Asian character, so he brought Han into the story. He decided to leave the Fast franchise to explore new directions after directing the third to sixth films, including Fast & Furious 6 (2013).
He says: “When I came back to direct, it was poetic to have Han back. I got to re-engage with Han and with Sung. It felt very much like it was meant to be and I give the fans credit for that.”
With only two Fast movies to go before its legacy is left to spin-offs such as Hobbs & Shaw (2019) and possible television projects, the introduction of wrestler-actor John Cena into the franchise might appear to be a little late, but he says he is nonetheless happy to join.
Cena, 44, plays Jakob Toretto – Dom’s estranged younger brother – who is back to settle scores. In a separate interview, he says he had always wanted to play a baddie.
“Me playing a villain. It seemed no one was going to give me a chance to do that and I can’t blame them,” he says.
His time wrestling under the auspices of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) company had been spent in character as the nice guy. This has carried over to his film and television roles, where he mostly played genial characters, such as in the family comedies Playing With Fire (2019) and Blockers (2018).
“In my 15 years with the WWE, I spent a lot of time as the good guy and, in opportunities outside the WWE, I’ve worked hard to be a good host or good-natured figure.
“As a painter, you always get excited about the paints you can’t use, the new colours you haven’t tried yet.
“It’s really exciting that Fast is going against the tide by taking a risk on me.”
Fast & Furious 9 opens on July 1, with sneak previews from June 24.
