The Fate of the Furious is a 2017 American action film directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to Furious 7 (2015) and the eighth installment in the Fast & Furious franchise. The film stars Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto, alongside Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Scott Eastwood, Nathalie Emmanuel, Elsa Pataky, Kurt Russell, and Charlize Theron. In the film, Dom has settled down with his wife Letty Ortiz, until cyberterrorist Cipher (Theron) coerces him into working for her and turns him against his team, forcing them to find Dom and take down Cipher.
The eighth installment was planned since 2014, and in March 2015 it was revealed the film would be set in New York City. Preparations for the film began immediately before the release of Furious 7, with Diesel, Morgan, and producer Neal H. Moritz re-signing. After setting an initial release date in that same month, casting took place between April and June. In October, Gray was announced to direct the film in the place of James Wan, who had directed the previous installment. Composer Brian Tyler, who had scored the third, fourth, fifth, and seventh installments, returned to compose the score.
Principal photography began in March 2016 in locations such as Mývatn, Havana, Atlanta, Cleveland, and New York City, continuing the franchise's tradition of filming around the world. With an estimated production budget of up to $270 million, it is one of the most expensive films ever made. This is the first film in the series since The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) not to star Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner, following his death in November 2013.
The Fate of the Furious premiered in Berlin on April 4, 2017, and was theatrically released in the United States on April 14, by Universal Pictures. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, with praise for the performances of the cast and action sequences but criticism for the storyline. The film was a box office success, grossing over $1.2 billion worldwide, making it the thirtieth film (and the second in the franchise, after Furious 7) to gross over $1 billion, the third-highest-grossing film of 2017, and the eleventh highest-grossing film of all time at the time. It also grossed $541.9 million worldwide during its opening weekend, which made it the highest-grossing worldwide opening of all time until the release of Avengers: Infinity War a year later. The film was followed by a spin-off, Hobbs & Shaw (2019), and a direct sequel, F9 (2021).
Plot
Dominic Toretto and Letty Ortiz are on their honeymoon in Havana when Dom's cousin Fernando gets in trouble owing money to local racer Raldo. Sensing Raldo is a loan shark, Dom challenges him to a race, pitting Fernando's 1949 Chevrolet Fleetline against Raldo's 1956 Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria, and wagering his own 1961 Chevrolet Impala. After narrowly winning the race, Dom allows Fernando to keep his Impala.
The next day, a mysterious woman named Cipher coerces Dom into working for her by showing him something on her phone. DSS agent Luke Hobbs is assigned an off-the-books mission to retrieve an EMP device from a military outpost in Berlin and is warned that he will face arrest if captured. Hobbs recruits Dom and his team, which includes Letty, Roman Pearce, Tej Parker, and Ramsey, to assist him.
During the getaway, Dom steals the device for Cipher, who is a cyberterrorist. Hobbs is arrested and confined in the same high-security prison that holds Deckard Shaw. Intelligence operative Mr. Nobody initiates a prison escape to recruit the pair to help Dom's team track down Dom and capture Cipher. When Hobbs and the team protest working with Deckard, he reveals that Cipher had hired his brother Owen to steal an electromagnetic pulse weapon called Nightshade and Mose Jakande to steal God's Eye, a mass surveillance computer program created by Ramsey, and so has his reasons for wanting revenge on her. Dom and Cipher then attack the team's base, stealing God's Eye.
It is revealed that Cipher secured Dom's loyalty by holding hostage his ex-lover and DSS agent Elena Neves, along with their baby son, whose existence Dom was unaware of. Cipher sends Dom to retrieve a nuclear football held by the Russian Minister of Defense in New York City in his 1971 Plymouth GTX. With Raldo's help, Dom briefly evades Cipher and persuades Deckard and Owen's mother, Magdalene, to assist him, offering to arrange the Shaw brothers' freedom from government custody if they rescue his son from Cipher's plane.
The team intercepts Dom in their cars, but he escapes and seemingly kills Deckard. Letty takes the football but is nearly killed by Cipher's enforcer, Connor Rhodes, before Dom stops him and forces Letty to return the football. In retaliation, Cipher has Rhodes kill Elena in front of Dom, threatening to kill his son next if he fails to follow her orders again. Dom infiltrates a military base in Russia, using the EMP device to activate a nuclear submarine, allowing Cipher to hijack it so she can use its arsenal to trigger a nuclear war.
The team intercepts, shutting down the submarine's nuclear weapons and driving toward the gates to prevent the sub from leaving to the sea. Deckard, who faked his death with the help of Magdalene, teams up with Owen and infiltrates Cipher's plane to rescue Dom's son. Once Deckard reports that the child is safe, Dom turns on Cipher and kills Rhodes. Cipher fires an infrared homing missile at Dom's Charger, but he lures the missile to the trailing submarine, which is destroyed. Deckard confronts Cipher, but she escapes from the plane by parachute.
Hobbs has his record cleared and is offered his DSS job back, but declines in order to spend more time with his daughter. Deckard delivers Dom's son, setting aside differences, and is accepted into the family. Dom names his son Brian and celebrates with everyone at a rooftop dinner.
Cast
Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto: A former criminal, professional street racer and millionaire who has retired and settled down with his wife, Letty. Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs: A former DSS agent who allied with Dom and his team following their outings in Rio de Janeiro and Europe. Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw: A former special forces soldier and intelligence agent who was imprisoned by Hobbs and the DSS after his defeat in Los Angeles, who serves as an ally to help Dom's team take down Cipher. Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz: A former professional street racer, married to Dom and the stepmother of Brian Marcos. Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce: A former criminal from Barstow and a member of Dom's team. Ludacris (credited as Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) as Tej Parker: A mechanic from Miami and a member of Dom's team. Scott Eastwood as Little Nobody: A law enforcement agent working under Mr. Nobody. Nathalie Emmanuel as Ramsey: A British computer hacktivist and a member of Dom's team. Elsa Pataky as Elena Neves: The biological mother of Brian Marcos and a former Rio de Janeiro police officer who moved to the United States to become Hobbs' new partner at the DSS. Kurt Russell as Mr. Nobody: An intelligence operative and the leader of a covert ops team which previously aided Dom and his team in taking down Deckard in Abu Dhabi. Charlize Theron as Cipher: A criminal mastermind and cyberterrorist who coerces Dom into working against his team by holding Elena and their son hostage.
Tego Calderón and Don Omar reprise their respective roles as Tego Leo and Rico Santos, former members of Dom's team, from Los Bandoleros (2009), Fast & Furious (2009) and Fast Five (2011). Kristofer Hivju portrays Connor Rhodes, Cipher's right-hand man and second-in-command. Patrick St. Esprit appears as DS Allen. Luke Evans reprises his role from Fast & Furious 6 (2013) and Furious 7 (2015) as Owen Shaw, Deckard's younger brother and former mercenary who previously opposed Dom's team in Europe, and who helps his brother in rescuing Dom's son. Helen Mirren makes an uncredited cameo appearance as Magdalene Shaw, the mother of Deckard and Owen Shaw. Celestino Cornielle portrays Raldo, a street racer whose respect Dom earns, while Janmarco Santiago portrays Fernando, Dom's cousin who lives in Havana.
Production Development
In November 2014, Universal Pictures chairwoman Donna Langley confirmed that a discussion regarding three sequels to Furious 7 (2015) had taken place. Actor Vin Diesel reaffirmed this in September 2015, alluding the trilogy could lead to the mainline series' conclusion. He stated that the eighth film was acceptable as Paul Walker said.
Diesel further hinted at an eighth film on Jimmy Kimmel Live! when he stated that Kurt Russell's character would span multiple films. He also stated that the next film would take place in New York City. Chris Morgan returned to write his sixth script in the franchise, while Neal H. Moritz returned to produce. Moritz later stated, "[The story] is going to have to be something enticing for all of us. It has to be as good as or better [than Furious 7]".
At the 2015 CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Diesel announced the film for an April 14, 2017 release date. In August, at the 2015 Teen Choice Awards (where Furious 7 received the award for Choice Movie – Action and Walker received the award for Choice Movie Actor – Action), Diesel gave the film the initial title Fast 8. In September, Diesel stated that the script had almost been completed, and expressed interest in Rob Cohen, who directed the first film, to direct the eighth installment. Furious 7 (2015) film director James Wan was originally contractually hired to direct this film and F9 (2021), but the studio let him go after he told them about his wishes to make The Conjuring 2 (2016), a sequel to his previous horror film The Conjuring (2013). The studio went back to offer Wan directing the film after Justin Lin, who directed the film series since The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) to Fast & Furious 6 (2013), chose to direct Star Trek Beyond (2016) over returning to the series, but Wan firmly declined directing both this film and the ninth film due to the seventh film's demanding production impacting on his health. In October, Diesel announced on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that Straight Outta Compton (2015) director F. Gary Gray would direct the film.
In July, Moritz said that Walker's character, Brian O'Conner, would not appear in the film, following the use of CGI in the previous film after Walker died in a single-vehicle accident in November 2013, with Moritz stating that his character had "moved on". It had previously been reported that Paul's younger brother, Cody Walker, would either join the cast in a new role, or replace his older brother in the role of O'Conner; however, it was later announced that the character will not return to the franchise. Moritz also said that the film would shift the focus of the franchise from a series of heist films to spy films, following a similar change in focus from street racing to heist films in Fast Five (2011). In December 2016, the film was retitled The Fate of the Furious.
Casting