Fast X Star Has A Brutal Reason Why Franchise Is Still Going
Fast X star Ludacris says the franchise is still going strong because of its box office grosses.
The Fast and Furious franchise has been going strong ever since the original hit theaters in 2001, and Vin Diesel and the family have made plenty of money along the way. One of the stars of the franchise, actor and rapper Christopher Bridges, aka Ludacris, recently spoke to the All Smoke podcast regarding Fast X and why they keep making the movies, and his answer was hilariously blunt. Ludacris summed it up by saying, “if you spend $200 million and you make a billion, who the **k is going to tell you to stop shooting the movies when you making 800 muthaf*****n’ million dollars.”
To be frank, Ludacris is absolutely right. If the studios spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the franchise, does it really matter if your returns are in the billions? Fast X is already on track to make a boatload of money, with it already having made over $360 million after opening just last weekend.
The Fast X budget is reportedly around $340 million, so it seems like the movie is already in the green just two weeks in. It’s sure to pull in plenty of viewers in the coming weeks, and we could very well see this being the highest-grossing film of the franchise yet. We recently saw the film enter the five highest-grossing franchises of all time, crossing the $7 billion mark across all of its movies.
While Ludacris is spot on about why they keep making these movies, it remains to be seen how long the franchise continues after Fast X. We know that the mainline franchise will be ending with the eleventh installment, presumably meaning Vin Diesel is hanging up the car keys for good. Of course, it also seems likely that the studios will want to do some spin-offs to keep the money tap flowing.
The Fast & Furious franchise has already proven that spin-offs can be popular and profitable, considering the Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham-starring Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw pulled in an impressive haul of $760 million worldwide back in 2019. Clearly, there is interest in the franchise outside of the main characters we’ve come to know. Fast X and the two-part Fast 11 will likely bring plenty of money to Universal’s coffers, but it doesn’t seem likely that they will call it quits once that mainline story is over.
For now, fans can go check out Fast X and theaters to see the continuation of the story. In the film, Vin Diesel and his family must face off with the vengeful Dante (Jason Momoa), who is the son of one of his previous foes. Along with Diesel and Momoa, the film stars Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, John Cena, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Scott Eastwood, Daniela Melchior, Alan Ritchson, Helen Mirren, Brie Larson, Rita Moreno, Jason Statham, and Charlize Theron.
While fans of the Fast and Furious franchise might be disappointed that the mainline series is gearing up to its finale, they can at least look forward to two more films. As mentioned, it’s been confirmed that the mainline franchise will end with a two-part finale, so there is plenty more high-octane action coming in the future. Plus, Vin Diesel is trying to bring Robert Downey Jr. on board, and reports say Dwayne Johnson is returning again, so there’s at least that to look forward to.
