Fast & Furious 11’s Ending Plan Makes More Sense After $714 Million Disappointment

Fast & Furious 11 is slated to be the final entry in the long-running series, and after the recent trend of declining box-office returns and lackluster performances among audiences and critics, the decision to end the franchise is likely for the best. Taking to Instagram, Fast & Furious star Vin Diesel recently confirmed that Fast & Furious 11 will end the franchise that first debuted back in 2001. While the news might be unexpected, the decision to cancel the franchise after Fast & Furious 11 makes sense when taking a few things into account.

Plot details surrounding Fast & Furious 11 are scarce, but with a tentative release date of April 4, 2025, Fast & Furious 11 is already moving ahead with its development plans. While Fast & Furious 11 is slated to be the final installment in the mainline franchise, there are other ways Diesel and Universal Pictures can continue the franchise’s legacy via spin-offs featuring new and returning characters. While the global phenomenon has finally run out of gas, the decision to close the book on the series makes a lot of sense when examining recent trends in the series’ history.

Fast & Furious’ Box Office Downturn Explains Fast 11 Being The Last One

Fast X’s $714.6 million gross on its $340 million budget proves the long-running series has run its course.

Although there are many exciting things to expect from Fast & Furious 11

, Diesel and Universal Pictures concluding the stories of Dominic Toretto and his rag-tag family signify the end of an era as far as action movies are concerned. While Diesel once suggested that there would be a Fast & Furious 12, the most recent updates effectively kill any chance of that happening. What’s interesting about Diesel’s previous update regarding the series’ future is that Fast & Furious 12 was meant to be the first in a three-part ending that definitely would have stretched the franchise’s ending too far.

 

As demonstrated by Fast & Furious 11‘s abysmal performance at the box office, audiences are proving that they’ve had enough of the long-running franchise, irrespective of its legacy and reputation in the action movie genre. While F9‘s less-than-stellar performance at the box office could partially be attributed to the still ongoing concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, Fast X‘s cast, budget, and sense of scope as seen with its various settings should have worked to the most recent outing’s benefit. However, the movie is one of the lowest-grossing in the franchise, which highlights why the series needs to end.

Why It’s Good Fast & Furious 11 Will Be The Last One

The franchise is essentially out of fresh ideas.

A huge reason why the series made it to eleven movies is because they used to offer audiences something fresh and original in the action movie landscape. While the first movie was ostensibly about illegal street racing and the politics associated with the sport, subsequent entries became more convoluted than the series needed. However, despite the ridiculous nature of some of the later installments’ plots, they still had an undeniable charm to them that suggested to audiences that the producers of the movies were acutely aware of the absurdity of events.

However, the franchise’s decision to introduce melodramatic plots such as characters seemingly being killed off before coming back to life with little to no solid explanation, characters actually going into outer space, and star Vin Diesel essentially demonstrating superhuman feats wore thin very easily. Additionally, the jarring shifts in tone and structure suggested that the team behind the movies were taking things far too seriously – something that actively worked against the otherwise fun and whimsical series

. However, with the sheer number of characters and plots, there are other ways to keep the Fast & Furious franchise alive.

 

How The Fast & Furious Franchise Can Continue After Fast 11

As seen with Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, spin-off movies can still work for the Fast & Furious franchise.

2019’s Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is a perfect example of one of the ways Universal Pictures can keep the wheels on the Fast & Furious franchise spinning. By creating a spin-off movie centered around two characters who don’t really get along, audiences were treated to a unique dynamic that hasn’t really been seen in the more recent entries in the franchise. Further, with the introduction of Idris Elba’s Brixton Lore and Vanessa Kirby’s Hattie Shaw, the Fast & Furious spin-off proved that the franchise could realistically explore other characters and storylines.

While the details are limited, the Fast & Furious franchise is already developing spinoff movies that could very well infuse new life into the series while also recontextualizing some of the already established characters. Among some of the spinoffs are a Hobbs spinoff movie centered around The Rock’s character, a sequel to Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, and a Fast & Furious movie centered around an all-female cast. Although anything is subject to change, the tentative spinoffs all seem promising, and they might be what the Fast & Furious franchise needs after Fast & Furious 11.