The first film was released in 2001, which began the original trilogy of films focused on illegal street racing, and culminated in the film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006). The series transitioned towards heists and spying with Fast & Furious (2009), and was followed by four sequels. F9 is set to be released in 2021, with a tenth and final film planned. The main films are collectively known as The Fast Saga.
Universal expanded the series to include the spin-off film Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019), while its subsidiary DreamWorks Animation followed this with the animated streaming television series Fast & Furious Spy Racers. Soundtrack albums have been released for all the films, as well as compilation albums containing existing music heard in the films. Two short films that tie into the series have also been released.
The series has been commercially successful and is Universal's biggest franchise, and ranks as the tenth highest-grossing film series ever, with a combined gross of over $5.8 billion.[1] Critical reception for the first four films were mixed to mostly negative until the fifth and later films, which were more positively received. Outside of the films, Fast & Furious has been the focus of other media, including attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood, live shows, commercials, many video games and toys. It is considered the vehicle that propelled lead actors Paul Walker and Vin Diesel to stardom