Officially, the Fast & Furious franchise includes nine feature films, with the tenth along the way, and also a spin-off, Hobbs & Shaw (2019), which did not please Vin Diesel at all. However, that is only area of the story: true fans know that the Gospel According to Toretto has spread through animated series ?Fast & Furious: Spies at Full Throttle (2017-2021)?, video gaming, an attraction in all the Universal theme parks and several short films just for the very, very insiders.
The first of them has the incredible title of The Turbo Charged Prelude for 2 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and is, well, a straightforward prelude to the second film, centered on how Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) manages to evade the authorities. from LA until landing in Miami. The producers' idea was to establish a kind of connective tissue between the first two installments and fill a narrative gap that, in the end, consolidated Brian as the absolute protagonist of the story, since Diesel did not want to return. A mere promotional material designed for the internet ?hence its aesthetic, almost worth a Sisq� online video?, although some North American cinemas showed it before 2 Fast 2 Furious to provide the public a 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 when it comes to the second short. Los Bandoleros (2009), written and directed by Vin Diesel himself, introduces Tego Calder�n and Don Omar in to the saga, two musicians turned actors who be essential pieces in a few subsequent installments, especially Fast 5 (2011). Not just that, but it also details what happened to the characters of Dom and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) after the original film, besides recovering Sung Kang's Han, whose friendship with the paterfamilias had been established by the end of Fast & Furious: Tokyo Race (2006). A lot 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 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 isn't strictly necessary that you see it in your next fast and furious marathon, but it responds to the authorial vision of the primary creative engine of it. Which makes it an interesting curiosity.
However, the story does not end there. Only the most dedicated to the reason know this, but there is a secret, semi-official film that, thanks to director Justin Lin's ability to slip under Universal's radar, can be considered part of the experience. From https://www.blackpantherwakandaforeverimovie.com , sure, but take our word for this: the crime dramedy Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) traces the origins of the character Han Lue, also played by Kang (can you envisage any other actor in that role?). https://www.blackadamovie.com and Lin have confirmed on multiple occasions that it's indeed the same character, so there is absolutely no reason, other than the obvious and boring copyright issue, to exclude her from canon. Actually, their presence transforms this cinematic universe 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 just a couple of feet away. kilometers of distance.
The story of how this indie film found its way into F&F is fascinating enough to miss. When https://www.blackpantherwakandaforevermov.us heard that Universal was open to suggestions for a third film in the series, he arrived at his offices with a pitch about how exactly Dominc Toretto decides to travel to Japan to investigate the murder of a vintage friend. Since Diesel had not been yet interested in time for what would become his family ? he only wanted to make a brief final cameo following the studio gave him the rights to The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) ? Morgan contacted Justin Lin to assume a fresh protagonist. The director thought it could be a great opportunity to cast an Asian-American actor as the franchise's new hero, but 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 the very least let him revise the script to create it less "offensive and outdated" (those were his words).
