The "Fast and Furious" franchise has amassed seven feature films and a worldwide box office total of $3.9 billion. The universe of illegal street racing and high-action heists is about to get even bigger with new spinoff and prequel movies.
"We've written out story lines for various characters," producer and star Vin Diesel told Variety. "We've been playing with it for a long time. It's a very rich property and we're committed to treating it with a lot class."
The news comes on the heels of Diesel's announcement last month on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" that the eighth "Fast and Furious" movie would be set in New York City, the first of a new trilogy of films. The new movie will bring the franchise back to the city that inspired the first movie - a 1998 Vibe magazine article about street racers in New York.
The "Fast and Furious" movies have given Universal Pictures its most successful franchise and the studio is interested in expanding the universe.
"We're certainly in conversations about how we can expand the franchise now," Universal Pictures Chairman Donna Langley told Variety. "It's an ensemble cast and there's room to bring characters in and out."
The franchise took a major hit two years ago when it lost Paul Walker, who played Brian O'Connor and had appeared in every movie except "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift." He died in a street racing accident in November 2013 during a hiatus from filming "Furious 7" and his brothers, Caleb and Cody, filled in to complete his scenes.
"Furious 8" is scheduled to premiere on April 14, 2017.
