Before the abysmal mess that was Fast X, the ninth Fast and Furious film, F9, did the most insane thing imaginable. After literal years and years of joking about it, F9 actually sent characters to space. It was Ludacris (literally and figuratively), it was hilarious, and it was wonderful. But now, looking back, one of Universal Studios’ most powerful executives regrets it.
“I’m sorry that we sent them into space,” Donna Langley, the Chief Content Officer for NBCUniversal Studio Group, said recently, as reported by Variety. “We can never get that genie back.”
Langley is right about the second point, of course. Actually doing the most over-the-top thing imaginable in the franchise, when you still have movies to come, maybe wasn’t the right timing. Going to space would’ve been a perfect finale. But, since the fifth film, the trajectory of the series has always been increasingly wild and unbelievable. It got so crazy that this site, which only covers pop culture of a sci-fi or fantasy nature, finally dubbed the franchise io9 worthy (remember when Idris Elba played an enhanced super villain?). They had to go into space. It was inevitable.
The point being, hopefully, what Langley means isn’t that she regrets sending the franchise to space. Hopefully, it’s that she regrets sending the franchise to space so soon. Honestly, we don’t think it’s that, but it happened. It’s done. And now, the way it fits into the franchise is almost as a culmination of the franchise’s wildly unbelievable run. One through four are kind of normal and grounded. Five takes it up a notch. Then six through nine are sci-fi fantasy movies. Space is the peak that allows subsequent movies to dial back to a more grounded, street-level story, which is what franchise star and producer Vin Diesel has been teasing about the long-in-development 11th film in the main series.
So while we kind of understand Langley’s regret, we are here to ease the blow. Fans wanted the Fast and Furious franchise to go into space. Even if they didn’t think they did, they did. It was one of those perfect acts of madness that make the films so unique. Afterwards, all I could think of was, why not go further? Let them race spaceships. Let them drift submarines. I don’t know. I don’t work for Universal. But don’t regret doing the single most hilarious, perfect thing Fast has done in a long, long time.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.