Unlike other franchises where fans are normally forced to wait for too long before getting a new film, the Fast & Furious series has remained consistent. With a new movie released every two to three years, fan appetite has always been sufficiently quenched. And with each new film, we get new characters.
Most recently, the franchise branched out with the spin-off titled Hobbs & Shaw, and it proved to be a good bet. The movie starring Dwayne Johnson as Agent Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham as the criminal Luke Shaw grossed $760 million. With this kind of success, Universal Studio will definitely be tempted to expand the franchise even further on both the big screen and small screen. But which characters would be appropriate for a spin-off and which wouldn’t?
Yes: Mr. Nobody
Furious 7 introduced Mr. Nobody, the government operative played by Kurt Russel. He made a deal with Dominic Toretto and his crew to retrieve the “God’s Eye” surveillance software and its creator Ramsey. In exchange for their services, he’d let them use the software to find Deckard Shaw.
Mr. Nobody is already a good enough title for a movie or TV series. A spin-off could focus on him as a government agent who prefers to hire skilled ordinary citizens from all over the globe to do secret missions for him. How about a taxi driver from Venezuela who served as a getaway driver in his former life? Or a doctor from Burma who has secret skills that only Mr. Nobody knows about? The possibilities are endless
No: Mia Toretto
In a franchise full of tough, crazy, and sometimes evil characters, Dominic’s sister and Brian’s girlfriend Mia is too calm to carry a spin-off on her own. Mia never wants to get involved in the action and she also didn’t want to participate in the team’s plot to revenge against Deckard Shaw.
The last time we saw her, she and her boyfriend Brian (Paul Walker) had decided to settle for a quiet life and not participate in the missions anymore. This story arc was a result of Paul Walker’s death, however, Mia appears in the trailer for Fast & Furious 9. It would be interesting to see what she’ll be doing this time.
Yes: Han
In recent Fast & Furious films, racing has taken a back seat to make way for more action. While this hasn’t been necessarily a bad thing, it would great to have a spin-off that solely focuses on racing. It would even be better if this spin-off is set in Japan with Han as the lead character.
In Tokyo Drift, the sequel where Han was first introduced, street racing was a major plot arc. Since the latest entry’s trailer has proven that Han isn’t dead like we all thought, a spin-off that focusses on him as a racing maestro and crime fighter back home would be great.
No: Tej Parker
Apart from his banter with Roman Pearce, Tej Parker (Ludacris) rarely has interesting moments in the movies. He’s only been involved in two fights in total whereas his driving rarely involves any stunts. His strength lies in his understanding of automotive engineering and computer systems.
A spin-off about Tej would have to revolve around hacking. A TV series would be better suited for this rather than a movie, but there are better options out there that already cover this topic. Can Tej Parker really match up to Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek) in Mr. Robot? Highly unlikely.
Yes: Letty Ortiz
The Fast & Furious franchise has plenty of female protagonists but Letty stands out the most. Along with being Dom’s wife, Letty has been present since the very first film. As a skilled mechanic and racer, she always prefers to be involved in the action rather than let Dom have all the fun.
An interesting angle to explore if Letty is to be given a spin-off is the period between the fifth and sixth films. During this time, Letty worked for the villain Owen Shaw but, due to suffering from amnesia, she couldn’t remember what happened. So, her life as a criminal in this period could be explored in a spin-off with Luke Evans also returning to play Owen Shaw.
No: Sean Boswell
This character hasn’t been developed enough for it to warrant a sequel. Boswell was the main man in Tokyo Drift but, since then, he has only been used as a minor supporting character with very little screen time. And despite being the main man in Tokyo Drift, the movie was mainly Han Lue’s show.
It’s highly unlikely that viewers want to fully invest in Boswell. Unless he really stands out in the upcoming film, there’ll be no reason to invest more in his story. A series of future cameo appearances or a supporting role in a Han spin-off would suit him just fine.
Yes: Roman Pearce
Roman’s nickname should be “The Bringer Of Humor.” He’s the only one in the franchise who attempts to be funny, and he does a good job at it. Roman Pearce was fast introduced in 2 Fast, 2 Furious as Brian O’Conner’s friend. The two are said to have met in juvenile detention. The two initially took different paths with Brian becoming a cop and Roman ending up in jail for stealing cars.
In 2 Fast, 2 Furious, the two link up again and agree to take down a drug lord in Miami. The next time Roman is seen is in Fast Five. After the mission is over, he uses his money to buy a Koenigsegg CCXR supercar and a private jet. He is also said to be a gambler so the spin-off should focus on him as a man who lives large and goes on dangerous missions to make a living.
No: Tego Leo
It would not be surprising if most viewers have forgotten about Leo, the street racer from the Dominican republic. Leo appeared in three films in the franchise, the last one being Fast Five. Together with his friend Rico Santos, he came out to help Dominic Toretto after he had been framed by Brazilian crime lord Hernan Reyes for killing DEA agents.
Together with Dom’s other crew members, Leo stole $100 million from Reyes and went on to start a new life. What if he’s now a wealthy man running for office? Scratch that. Whichever way you look at it, there is no way a spin-off involving Leo can work.
Yes: Cipher
Thanos? Joker? We are in an age where villains are becoming more popular than heroes. A spin-off with Cipher (Charlize Theron), the overarching villain in the Fast & Furious franchise, wouldn’t be a bad idea. Even though she first appeared in The Fate of the Furious, it was revealed that she was secretly pulling the strings in the two films that came before.
Cipher is a cyberterrorist who knows how to get to everybody. She made Dominic betray his crew and, in the trailer for Fast & Furious 9, she is seen to be working with Jakob (John Cena) and using him to fight Dom. She’s definitely a badass female character and a spin-off with her at the top would make for an interesting watch.
No: Elena Neves
Elena had plenty of great moments. As a patrol officer and DSS agent, she was brought in by Luke Hobbs to track down Dominic and his gang in the Brazilian capital of Rio de Janeiro. When criminal mastermind Reyes tries to kill her, she helps Dom and his crew steal $100 million from him.
Elena also had a brief relationship with Dom. Despite the two having a son, Dom still went to be with his real love Letty. Even though she died, a prequel focusing on her life on the force could be tempting, although a police procedural might not be what the fans of this franchise are looking for.
