The Fast Saga

The Fast Saga (originally The Fast and the Furious and subsequently Fast & Furious) is an American media franchise centered on a series of action films that is largely concerned with illegal street racing, heists and spies. The franchise also includes short films, a television series, live shows, and theme park attractions. It is distributed by Universal Pictures. The first film was released in 2001, which began the original trilogy of films focused on racing, and culminated in the standalone film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006). The series then went under a soft reboot with Fast & Furious (2009), which transitioned the series toward heists and spying, and concluded with The Fate of the Furious (2017). Two final films are planned, and are set to be released in 2020, and 2021, respectively.

Universal expanded the series to include the spin-off film Hobbs &amp; Shaw (2019), while its subsidiary DreamWorks Animation followed this with the animated web television series Fast & Furious: Spy Racers. Soundtrack albums have been released for all the films, as well compilation albums containing existing music heard in the films. Two short films that tie into the series have also been released, while a female centered spin-off is also in development.

The series has been commercially successful and is Universal's biggest franchise, currently ranking as the ninth-highest-grossing film series of all time with a combined gross of over $5 billion. Critical response to the first four films was mixed to negative, while subsequent entries have received a generally positive reception. Outside of the films, The Fast and the Furious has been the focus of other media, including attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood, live shows, commercials, many video games and toys. It is also considered the vehicle which propelled lead actors Vin Diesel and Paul Walker to stardom.