Fast and Furious prequels and spinoffs in the works alongside Fast 8, 9 and 10, Vin Diesel confirms

'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 of class'

The Fast & The Furious II

The Fast and Furious series is about to get a whole lot bigger, as Vin Diesel has revealed the team behind the motor franchise are planning to make numerous prequels and spinoffs.

“We’ve written out story lines for various characters,” 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 of class.”

Work is currently going ahead on the eighth film in the franchise, the sequel to Furious 7, currently titled Fast 8. That film is set to have F. Gary Gray direct.

Diesel was unable to confirm which characters would get standalone films, but Dwayne Johnson has previously expressed interest in expanding Luke Hobbs’ story.

Universal Pictures Chairman Donna Langley confirmed that plans to expand the Fast and Furious franchise had taken place.

“We’re certainly in conversations about how we can expand the franchise now,” Langley told the trade magazine. “It’s an ensemble cast and there’s room to bring characters in and out.”

If the plans go ahead, it will mark Universal’s attempt to make a cinematic universe in line with those already being in progress by Disney (Avengers and Star Wars) and Warner Bros. (Justice League).

While many are worried Fast and Furious could be about to flop, chairman of the studio Jeff Shell said that the franchise is “at its peak now”.

Diesel previously announced a trilogy of Furious films were in the work, saying 8, 9 and 10 were all on the way. If all those films reach cinemas by 2021, that will mark a new film every 2 years for 20 years - not including spinoffs. That’s a lot of Diesel.