As we all know, the Fast Saga is now Vin Diesel’s baby, and Diesel is the proud patriarch of the Fast Family. This wasn’t always the case, however, and in fact he actually left the franchise at one point and had to be enticed back. But instead of asking for a big payday to ensure his return, he actually asked for the rights to his Pitch Black character, Riddick.
After debuting in 2001’s The Fast and the Furious with his good buddy Paul Walker, Diesel did not return for the sequel, 2003’s 2 Fast 2 Furious. He also had no plans to come back for the third movie in the saga – 2006’s Tokyo Drift. However, Universal wanted Diesel to make a cameo at the end of that movie, signalling that he was returning to take centre stage in the franchise once more.
Diesel ended up agreeing, but only if he (and his production company) were awarded the rights to the character of Riddick, who had appeared in 2000’s Pitch Black (launching Diesel’s career), and 2004’s The Chronicles of Riddick.
This allowed Diesel to release another Riddick movie in 2013, but as much as he may have been attached to the character, that franchise has never had the runaway success of the Fast Saga. Diesel is currently making the tenth movie in the multi-billion dollar series, with the eleventh set to be the last (at the moment, at least).
Fast X, as the tenth movie is known, has had a troubled production, with director Justin Lin leaving around two weeks after filming had started. Universal will be hoping that the addition of big stars such as DCEU’s Jason Momoa and MCU’s Brie Larson will be enough for it to make even more money than Fast 9.
If you’re a fan of the Fast Family, check out our guide to the best Fast and Furious characters, ranked.