It's been 22 years since The Fast and The Furious raced into theaters, a modest actioner that went on to spawn an adrenaline-fuelled franchise loved by fans the world over. This spring marks the return of the series to the big screen with Fast X, the tenth entry in the main saga –11th if you count the Hobbs and Shaw spin-off. With all those movies, it can be tough keeping track of the storylines and characters. But we've got you covered with our comprehensive recap on everything you need to remember before seeing Fast X.
A Fast History of the Furious Franchise
Dom Toretto's crew of outcasts and crooks have entertained audiences across eleven movies so far, racking up a combined worldwide box office of $6.6 billion. The franchise's origins can be traced back to a Vibe article about illegal street racing in New York City called Racer X which inspired the first film. Directed by Rob Cohen, the 2001 movie charts the experiences of Brian O'Conner, an undercover cop investigating the criminal activity of a racer gang led by Dominic "Dom" Toretto.
With each successive film, the franchise transformed along with its core cast of characters. No longer content with simple street racing, the Fast family now dabbles in major international incidents on a global – and planetary – scale. But with so many plot twists and turns, it can be hard to keep track of what's happened, so let's dive in.
What to Remember From Each Fast and Furious Movie
The Fast and Furious (2001)
The first film introduces the main players in the series and establishes their dynamic. Dom Toretto, a street racer crook, leads a gang infiltrated by Brian O'Conner, an undercover cop. We also meet Dom's sister Mia Toretto, and his girlfriend, Letty Ortiz, both part of his crew. Brian helps Dom evade capture in the final moments and becomes part of the Fast family.
2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
The first sequel finds Brian on the run after helping Dom. None of the cast except Paul Walker returned, so this serves as a fun offshoot that follows the former cop working for the FBI in an effort to bring down an Argentinian drug lord. This entry introduces Tej Parker (Ludacris) as Brian's mechanic friend who remains a core member of the Fast team, and Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), a childhood friend of Brian's.
The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
The movie follows Sean Boswell (Lucas Black), a teen who relocates to Tokyo to live with his father following a legal skirmish. It's here that he meets Han Lue (Sung Kang), a legendary figure on the city racing scene, who teaches him how to 'drift'. During a frantic chase sequence toward the end of the film, Han is broadsided and killed. The movie closes on a cameo of Dom arriving to honor his friend Han's death by racing with Sean.
Fast and Furious (2009)
Dom, Brian, Letty, and Mia return in this soft reboot of the franchise. To explain their absences in the last two movies and to allow Han to reappear, Tokyo Drift was retconned to take place years in the future. This sequel finds Brian working back in law enforcement with Dom still on the run. The two join forces to take down drug kingpin Arturo Braga following Letty's death and Dom finally accepts his fate and is sentenced to prison.
Fast Five (2011)
Brian and Mia free Dom and the three flee to Rio, where they embark on a car-stealing heist aboard a moving train and are subsequently framed for killing DEA agents. The trio assemble a team with plans to steal $100 million from the owner of the stolen cars, drug lord Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida).The US sends in Diplomatic Security Service agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and local cop Elena Neves (Elsa Pataky) to extradite the Fast crew but Reyes' henchmen kill Hobbs's team. The gang steal Reyes' loot and Hobbs kills Reyes, giving Brian and Dom a 24-hour head start before he chases them down. A post-credits scene reveals Letty to still be alive.
Fast and Furious 6 (2013)
Hobbs promises Dom's crew pardons for their numerous crimes if they help him locate British mercenary Owen Shaw (Luke Evans). He convinces Dom with a photo of Letty, who appears to be alive and well, working on Shaw's crew. Braga, still behind bars, informs Brian that Shaw helped him build his cartel and that Shaw took Letty in when he realized she had amnesia and could be weaponized. Dom's crew brings down Shaw and his gang at an airfield in England but Gisele (Gal Gadot) perishes while saving Han.
Furious 7 (2015)
Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) vows to get revenge on Dom's crew for putting his brother in a coma. The Toretto homestead is detonated by Deckard, who also reveals he is responsible for Han's death. Dom visits Sean in Tokyo to collect detritus from the crash site. Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell), a government operative, offers Dom help in apprehending Deckard if Dom and the crew recover God's Eye, a piece of powerful surveillance software. The team rescues Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), the hacker who created the program, and defeats Shaw and terrorist Mose Jakande. Brian retires from the team, realizing the danger he and his family faces if he stays.
The Fate of the Furious (2017)
Under the influence of cyberterrorist Cipher (Charlize Theron), Dom "betrays" his family in the opening heist and works to assist her in acquiring nuclear weapons. Thanks to Mr. Nobody, the rest of his crew soon learns the leverage she wields; Dom's son is being held hostage. Former enemies Deckard and Owen Shaw join the fold — after Dom gets a message to their mother, Magdalene (Helen Mirren) — and help the crew get Dom's son back. They avoid a global nuclear event by stopping Cipher's plan and Deckard is welcomed into the Fast family.
The Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw (2019)
The first spin-off in the franchise focuses on Hobbs and Deckard Shaw's partnership in taking down a cyber-genetically enhanced villain, Brixton Lore (Idris Elba). The movie also introduces Shaw's sister Hattie (Vanessa Kirby) who is an Mi6 agent.
F9: The Fast Saga (2021)
F9 takes a trip down memory lane, opening with the race that killed Dom's dad. The movie introduces us to his and Mia's brother Jakob Toretto (John Cena), a rogue agent now working with Cipher to obtain a device named Project Aries which can hack into any computer. It's revealed that Han survived his accident and was actually working for Mr. Nobody the entire time to protect the Aries technology. But Han isn't the only Tokyo Drift returnee. Sean Boswell is back with a rocket car that Tej and Roman use to enter orbit and destroy a satellite. Dom and Jakob reconcile and the crew stop Cipher from enacting another catastrophic plan. As the crew meet for the traditional end-of-film cookout at the Toretto household, Brian O'Conner arrives.
A Look at the Main Fast and Furious Characters
Dominic "Dom" Toretto (Vin Diesel)
The leader of the Fast and Furious crew, Dominic Toretto is played by Vin Diesel and appears in every Fast film except for 2 Fast 2 Furious. He is a skilled mechanic, street racer, and heist strategist. He is driven by his intense loyalty to his friends and family. He's married to Letty and has a son with Elena called Brian.
Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker)
Brian is a former LAPD officer who bonded with Dom during an undercover mission, becoming an essential part of his crew. He becomes Dom's brother-in-law when he marries Mia Toretto. He is retired from the Fast lifestyle (a storyline worked in due to Paul Walker's untimely death in 2013) and lives with Mia and their two kids.
Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez)
Letty, like her husband, is a skilled mechanic and street racer who undergoes a series of traumatic events beginning in 2009's Fast and Furious, where she's presumed dead. She returns with amnesia, and since then she's been slowly regaining her memories of her early romance with Dom and her days on the Fast team.
Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster)
Mia is an adept driver with a lot of tech savvy. She's also Dom's sister and is married to Brian, with whom she shares two children. Following the events of Furious 7 she briefly retired before returning in Fast 9.
Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson)
The joker of the pack, Roman Pearce is a childhood friend of Brian's. He's a highly-skilled driver and isn't afraid to improvise with his comedic hijinks when the crew is stuck in a tight spot.
Tej Parker (Ludacris)
While originally introduced as a mechanic and race organizer, Tej has blossomed into a dedicated member of Dom's crew. He possesses a range of tech skills which have proven valuable to the team.
Han Lue (Sung Kang)
Like the rest of Dom's crew, Han is a masterful driver adept at a specific road skill known as 'drifting'. He's introduced as a mentor and is seemingly killed in a car accident until he returns in F9, having faked his death.
Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel)
Ramsey is a talented hacker who created the surveillance program God's Eye. She's rescued in Furious 7 and becomes a member of the team, now indispensable thanks to her technological prowess.
Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham)
Deckard is a former British Special Forces soldier turned mercenary. He begins as the villain in Furious 7 before becoming a member of Dom's crew in The Fate of the Furious.
Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson)
A DSS officer, Hobbs began his stint in the Fast franchise as an antagonist in Fast Five. Known for his brute force and off-the-cuff one-liners, he eventually became allies with Dom and the team.
Cipher (Charlize Theron)
A cyberterrorist and the primary villain in The Fate of the Furious, she attempts to access nuclear weapons in her first stint before joining forces with Jakob Toretto in Fast 9. She is responsible for the death of Elena.
Jakob Toretto (John Cena)
Dom's estranged younger brother is a skilled driver and assassin, who enters the franchise as an antagonist working with Cipher but he eventually makes up with Dom and becomes part of the team.
Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood)
Introduced in The Fate of the Furious, Little Nobody is Mr. Nobody's protege who aids Dom's team in bringing down Cipher.
Magdalene "Queenie" Shaw (Helen Mirren)
Mother of Deckard and Owen Shaw, Queenie is a career criminal who befriends Dom in The Fate of the Furious. She helps him locate his brother Jakob in Fast 9.
What to Expect in Fast X
Fast X is the penultimate chapter in the Fast and Furious franchise and it plans to address several villainous loose ends. Jason Momoa's character Dante Reyes is the son of Hernan Reyes, the drug lord the crew defeated in Fast Five, and will work alongside returning villain Cipher to cause havoc for Dom and the crew.
Fast X premieres in theatres on May 19! See it at Regal.
