Vin Diesel has become one of the main attractions of the Fast and Furious saga and is synonymous with the franchise both as an actor and an influential producer.
For the roles of Dominic Toretto and Brian O'Conner, several actors were considered including Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg and even Eminem.
The first choice actor for Dom was Timothy Olyphant, who had appeared in Gone in 60 Seconds the previous year. He was offered the role and turned it down, and in his opinion, the franchise was better off with Diesel.
"I'm gonna give them the benefit of the doubt that no, they would not, no," he replied to Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast when asked if the franchise would have been as successful with him playing Toretto.
"I haven't seen those movies, but y'know, they're part of the culture that I know what they are. And it feels like part of what makes that, is a huge- he's just unlike anything out there... I remember thinking "I can't make this work," I was like, "Why would I be in this?" at the time. But he seems like they got the right guy. But look, I felt the same thing when I was doing Hitman and there I was getting paid, so f*ck, who knows?"
The Fast and Furious franchise has become one of the most successful of all time and has grossed over $7 billion at the box office since the first movie was released.
More Fast and Furious spin-offs are coming
Ten movies have been produced so far, with Fast X being released in 2023. There has also been one successful spin-off, Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw, which was a financial success and also proved popular with fans.
It focused on the characters of Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw, played by Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Jason Statham respectively, two men who were at once major villains in the Fast franchise but who turned.
Diesel says that a female-driven Fast movie is in the works, though all the spin-offs might have to wait until the conclusion of the main franchise storyline.
"I started developing the female spin-off in 2017 along with other spin-offs, and the sooner I deliver the final, the sooner I can launch all the spin-offs," Diesel told Variety.
"Fast X is the first of a two-part ending, but it's still bittersweet thinking about the finale."
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