fast and furious

If yesterday didn’t make you feel especially patriotic, then maybe this news will remind you of the goodness in America’s heart: Idris Motherf—king Elba (that’s his legal name, I swear) has signed on to play the villain in Hobbs & Shaw, the upcoming Fast & Furious spinoff starring the only good parts of The Fate of the Furious (sorry, Charlize, but you get it).

The Fast & Furious franchise really is all about family. The billion-dollar speed saga is officially racing onto Netflix with a new animated series following the adventures of Dominic Toretto’s young cousin. We swear we’re not making this up.

Each new development in the Fast and Furious feud is somehow more delightful and absurd than the last. First there was the highly-publicized beef between Dwayne Johnson and Vin “Candyass” Diesel. Then Tyrese Gibson got involved when it was announced that Johnson is headlining a spinoff. That quickly escalated when Universal pushed back the release of Furious 9 to make room for the spinoff, and now, a few irate Instagram posts later, here we are: Tyrese Gibson is threatening to quit the Fast fam if Dwayne Johnson returns for the ninth movie.

Tyrese shared a video of The Rock brutally bashing his 2015 album, and the ‘Fast and Furious’ feud continues.

This Fast and Furious family feud has become so wacky and convoluted that it could easily serve as the plot for the next Fast and Furious movie. If you haven’t been paying attention, here’s a quick recap: After some highly-publicized beef with Vin Diesel on the set of The Fate of the Furious, Dwayne Johnson struck a deal with Universal for his very own spinoff with Jason Statham. Last week, the studio pushed the release of Fast 9 back from 2019 to 2020, and subsequently scheduled Johnson’s spinoff for…2019. Tyrese Gibson dragged Johnson on Instagram. Then Diesel chimed in with a post about staying positive. Grab your popcorn, fam, because Johnson just responded.

Tyrese Gibson has taken to posting (and the deleting) pleas on social media for Dwayne Johnson not to leave the Fast and Furious franchise like a lovestruck ex. At least, that’s what everyone figures is going on, because there is clearly something going on between the two. Tyrese Gibson has been commenting and the deleting messages to The Rock on his Instagram posts, and today posted an Instagram himself, along with a plea for Johnson to call him back.

Michelle Rodriguez, who has starred in five ‘Fast & Furious’ entries and is also a woman, isn't going to leave this alone: The franchise needs to do better by its women.

For years, one of the internet’s dirty little secrets has been that people really enjoy The Fate of the Furious: Tokyo Drift. A healthy flop at the time of its release  —  the film’s $60 million gross is half that of 2 Fast 2 Furious, the second-lowest grossing movie in the Fast and the Furious franchise  —  Tokyo Drift has climbed steadily back into fans’ favor due to the lasting appeal of Sung Kang’s Han Lue and a bit of chronological trickery in a later film that boosted this one’s reputation. It’s amazing how much better a film gets when you stop being mad at it for failing to bring back any of the main characters.

In the beginning, there were illegal street races and high speed heists, and Vin Diesel looked upon that which had created and saw that it was good. But as the franchise continued, the stakes became a little more… let’s say a little more insane. Cars parachuted out of the sky. Characters leapt their vehicles between skyscrapers. Tanks exchanged missiles with a submarine. As each movie has progressively upped the wow-factor of the franchise, there seems to be only one natural outcome for the Fast and the Furious family: they’re definitely going to head into space.

With the eighth on the way and two more planned sequels after that, it seems like the Fast & Furious franchise will never end. And you know what, if Vin Diesel, The Rock, and Jason Statham want to keep making movies where the good guys win by driving quickly and angrily, more power to them! Diesel himself revealed during CinemaCon on Wednesday, after an emotional tribute to the late Paul Walker, that The Fate of the Furious is the first in a new trilogy of films.

Veteran actor and beloved curmudgeon Tommy Lee Jones has occasionally raised a few eyebrows over the course of his career with roles that defy his Quite Serious persona (Batman Forever, for example) and prove that he’s no different from any other working actor (he likes paychecks, for example). As it turns out, we were robbed of seeing Jones tackle another surprising role, but what we were given in exchange is so much better.

F. Gary Gray, who directed last summer's smash hit Straight Outta Compton, will direct Fast & Furious 8, the latest installment of the successful action franchise. Gray confirmed the news on Facebook and Twitter Thursday, posting, "I could not have asked for better partners than Vin Diesel, Neal H. Mo...