Badass cars, edgy guys and lots of cool lines! That's what the "Fast and Furious" franchise has been all about for over 23 years now. We have been following the story of Dom Toretto and his family for 10 movies now, as they repeatedly have to take on extremely risky missions. Now, however, their journey is coming to a close with "Fast & Furious 11". In this article, you can find out all the information and rumors that are circulating about the upcoming action thriller!

Who is Returning?

Over the years, the cast of the franchise has continued to grow. Most recently, Jason Momoa joined the cast in "Fast & Furious 10" aka "Fast X" as villain Dante Reyes. In the eyes of many viewers, he was a real highlight of the movie. This makes it all the more surprising that his return is pretty uncertain: distributor Universal Pictures seems to be considering dropping the star from the movie entirely and replacing him with a different villain. Allegedly, Vin Diesel wasn't too happy about Momoa stealing the show from the other characters. It wouldn't be the first time that such quarrels have led to a character being dropped: we recall the dispute between Diesel and Dwayne Johnson, for example.

However, there are already some initial ideas for a new potential antagonist: Vin Diesel would like to see Oscar-winner Robert Downey Jr. embody a character that stands in complete contrast to Dom and his values: a rich technology giant who relies entirely on AI-controlled vehicles.

As things currently stand, it can be assumed that the cast of Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson and Jason Statham will come back. But part 10 ended with a huge cliffhanger: the actual fate of many characters is thus uncertain.

However, Dwayne Johnson aka Luke Hobbs will finally return to the franchise. The post-credits scene of the predecessor already suggested this - and in the meantime, his comeback has been officially confirmed.

Despite everything, Jason Momoa will probably make another appearance: Namely in the already confirmed spin-off project "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Reyes". The project is intended to bridge the gap between the tenth and eleventh movies.

Less Budget

Rumor has it that the budget for "Fast & Furious 11" will be cut in order to make the movie more profitable. The most recent installments of the series have generated less and less money, even though they were still fairly successful. "Fast & Furious 10" grossed around 705 million US dollars globally - with production costs of over 340 million. However, a general rule of thumb for blockbusters is that a film needs to make around two to three times its production costs in order to be profitable. According to Hollywood insider Jeff Sneider, the budget for the new film might therefore not exceed the 200 million dollar mark - which is less than two thirds of the previous budget.

What is Fast and Furious 11 About?

The story of "Fast & Furious 11" will largely depend on whether further movies in the main series will follow - at present, this is far from clear. At the premiere of "Fast X", Vin Diesel was still talking about ending the series with a three-part finale. In the meantime, these expectations have been significantly dampened: after the moderate success of part 10, the series is now set to end with the next movie for the time being - apart from potential spin-offs. Only a completely outstanding performance at the box office would change that.

Back to the Roots

As the "Fast and Furious" story comes to an end, it seems fitting that the rumors indicate a return to the roots of the franchise: instead of global missions, the focus is now on one last big coup - we might even be able to look forward to the good old quarter-mile races again. Jason Momoa assured Cinemablend that we can look forward to more traditional car racing action again. He had missed this very much in "Fast X".

That would be clever in two ways: first, it should help to reduce the movie's costs as desired. Second, fans have been complaining for years that the films are increasingly deteriorating towards silly comic action. A return to the charm of the old films would certainly be more than appreciated by many.

The Death of Dom Toretto

If "Fast and Furious 11" is indeed to be the grand finale of the series, there is also another possibility: the death of Dom Toretto. This would certainly be a big shock for many fans, but would fit in with the heroic nature of the character. After all, he has risked his life for the family on several occasions. The death of Vin Diesel's character would definitely mean the end of the saga. That doesn't necessarily mean that Dom couldn't appear again in one or two spin-offs - as we all know, nothing is impossible in the franchise.

A Crazy Crossover

Not to be taken entirely seriously is the talk of a crossover of the "Fast and Furious" series with the "Transformers". Not only would this be the exact opposite of a cost-effective conclusion that pays tribute to the beginnings of the series, but both franchises are also based at completely different distributors, namely Universal and Paramount Pictures. And Paramount currently has plenty to deal with thanks to its "Transformers One" animated film and the recently announced crossover between the Transformers and "G.I. Joe". For the time being, an encounter between Dom Toretto and Optimus Prime remains pure fan fiction.

The Theatrical Release of "Fast X: Part 2"

As with part 10, "The Transporter" veteran Louis Leterrier is in charge of directing. He took over the series after the departure of Justin Lin, who had been involved since "Tokyo Drift". As things currently stand, "Fast & Furious 11" is set to be released in movie theaters on April 4, 2025. However, as filming has not even started yet, a postponement is quite likely. Especially if you consider that the spin-off "Hobbs & Reyes" will probably be released even earlier.

By the way, the official title of the movie is "Fast X: Part 2" and thus remains true to the curious tradition that not a single film in the series is named after the same logic - a real achievement with 11 movies.