Empire has pretty much seen it all, but this is a surprise, readers – Paul Walker and Vin Diesel are in talks to return to the roles that made them famous in The Fast And The Furious 4.
Justin Lin, who directed Tokyo Drift, the third film in the franchise, will again call the shots, while Chris Morgan will write, and Neal Moritz will once more produce for Universal. A pre-strike start date of Spring has been mooted, with locations including LA, the Dominican Republic and Mexico.
However, there’s no word on the storyline, or how it will continue the mythic and legendary tale of the tangled relationship between ex-cop Brian O’Connor (Walker) and his drag racing quarry Dominic Torretto (Diesel), whom he let escape justice at the end of the first Fast.
You could, of course, interpret the willingness of Walker and Diesel to return to Fast and Furious duty as a refreshing sign of loyalty in a town built on disloyalty – a sign that two name actors are giving something back to the franchise that made them. And they have previous, of course – Walker starred in 2 Fast 2 Furious, while Diesel showed up for a cameo at the end of Tokyo Drift.
But you could look at it another way: if ever there was an indication that Walker and Diesel’s stars are waning, it’s their willingness to return to this moribund and inessential franchise which, quite frankly, should have ended after the first film.
Now, that movie was great fun – a Point Break remake with plenty of va-va-voom – but the two sequels since were the dictionary definition of treading water. It’s notable also that Diesel passed on doing 2 Fast 2 Furious back in 2002 in favour of xXx and establishing his A-list credentials. So is his involvement in The 4ast and the 4urious (as it’ll probably be called) a tacit admission that his action man status needs a shot in the arm?
Of course, Walker and Diesel could have been lured back by a great premise and a wonderful script, instead of two very large cheques, but we’ll know for sure when the movie comes out in 2009.