Merrick here...
We've already noted that FAST FIVE - the fifth and already successful entry in the FAST AND THE FURIOUS franchise (it opened in some overseas territories in advance of its U.S. release this Friday) - will feature our characters doing a job...a heist, or something to that effect. Trailers and TV spots for the picture have made this quite apparent.
What isn't widely known yet, although it had been conjectured by fans, is that this heist/crime thriller angle will be advanced into future installments of the film series. I.e. the FAST franchise is shifting even further away from the street racing universe than it already has and will now focus more on mission-specific 'crime-thriller' concepts.
THIS piece at Deadline offers some interesting insight into how the decision came about, along with some words from Universal chairman Adam Fogelson.
It's already known that Universal has started Chris Morgan -- the screenwriter of Fast Five as well as The Fast And The Furious 3: Tokyo Drift, and Fast & Furious 4 -- on the script for the sixth installment as part of his new production deal at the studio. But Morgan is also a great scripter of the crime-thriller genre, like Wanted. So what Fast Five sets up nicely is a Fast Six whose plot revolves around a major robbery. And Universal's intent is to transform the street-racing franchise into a series of heist films.
[EDIT]
The studio honchos agreed that the next installments had to be less about street racing and about more inclusive subject matter.
[EDIT]
We wanted to see if we could raise it out of about racing and make car driving ability just a part of the movie, like those great chases in The French Connection, The Bourne Identity, The Italian Job," Fogelson explained.
Regarding the introduction of Dwayne Johnson as a federal agent assigned to track down our increasingly unlawful leads, the article reveals...
Fogelson says Johnson came to Universal seeking to become part of the franchise, and not only is he pivotal to the plot in Fast Five pitted against Vin, but he also wants to appear in and be integral to the action in Fast Six.
The Deadline article is rather interesting, be sure to check it out.
I'm really looking forwards to seeing FAST FIVE, even though...for some reason...there doesn't appear to be a press screening scheduled for Austin (an odd move given that the reaction we're hearing for the film both domestically and overseas is actually quite positive).
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