So the Fast & Furious franchise will live on and instead of just waiting for Fast 8 to arrive on April 14, 2017, we can now expect two more movies to bring the franchise’s total to 10 films. Yes, there will be a Fast 9 and a Fast 10, although don’t expect to see the former until April 19, 2019 and the latter two years after that on April 2, 2021,

Those dates were announced by none other than franchise godfather Vin Diesel, who confirmed the long-running speculation of a Fast 8 movie while also dropping the bombshell of two more movies to bring the franchise’s total haul to an even 10. Granted, those dates are not set in stone - we all know that release dates could change on a whim depending on a number of factors - but what appears to be certain is that we’re going to see Dominic Toretto and his crew three more times before everything comes to a halt.

The hope now is that production goes on as scheduled and we get all three movies->ke3897 on the three dates that Diesel mentioned. There’s still a ways to go before Fast 9 and Fast 10 hit theaters so maybe it’s a good thing to keep those fingers crossed that we can reach that point.

As for Fast 8, production seems to be running smoothly. Fast 7 director James Wan has ceded the chair over to Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray. The cast is also expected to return as they try to find a way to move on after Paul Walker’s death. It’s going to be interesting to see how the story moves forward from where we last left it, knowing that Walker won’t be around anymore.

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

Why it matters

I see the whole point of having three more movies to close out the franchise, even though if I were in charge, I think Fast 8 should’ve been the last one just so they could tie up all the loose ends while also doing one last “mission” - or whatever they’re called - before everybody goes their separate ways permanently. But hey, I’m not complaining that there’s going to be three more movies.

Now that I’ve given it time to marinate, it makes sense for the franchise to try to do one last big story arc that will cover the last three movies. Doing it without Walker is going to be a challenge considering how he was considered as one of the two cornerstones of the franchise with Diesel. But I think that’s precisely the point of what Universal Studios wants to do. It could be using this last trilogy of sorts to close out whole franchise without Walker’s shadow lurking over it.

Then again, Diesel himself said that if these three movies turn out as successful as the others, there’s a possibility that they could keep going. I’m not quite as sure about that plan, but I am looking forward to seeing what happens in Fast 8, 9, and 10. Considering how it’s become a global franchise, I’m going to expect nothing less than the best three movies out of all the 10. It’s an admittedly high bar to set, but I think the franchise is in good hands for as long as Diesel is prominently involved in it.

So I guess Dom Toretto was wrong when he said that Fast 7 would be their “last ride”. Turns out they’re going to be three more rides happening in the future, beginning with Fast 8 on April 14, 2017.