1 of 7 | Paul Walker (L) and Vin Diesel (R), seen at the 2009 Japan premiere of the film "Fast & Furious" in Tokyo, Japan, starred in "The Fast and the Furious" saga. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- The Fast and the Furious, returning to theaters Friday, would not be a candidate for re-release were it not for the 25-year legacy it spawned. Its box office success warranted a sequel, but from the very first entry the franchise had to evolve.
There have been 10 movies since the 2001 original and the upcoming Fast Forever is expected to conclude the saga... until they decide on one more ride. Here is a breakdown of each Fast and the Furious movie after the original and how they moved the franchise forward.
'2 Fast 2 Furious'
Vin Diesel turned down $30 million for the sequel, so they made the best of it. Paul Walker is charismatic enough to carry a movie as Brian O'Conner, and 2 Fast introduced Tyrese Gibson as his fun partner, Roman, and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as mechanic Tej. The franchise already started retconning itself in 2003. Brian's guilt over arresting Roman explains why he let Dom (Diesel) go at the end of the first movie.
