Fast & Furious 11 is still in the works, and the film’s stars continue to offer updates and teasers about what’s coming in the so-called final installment of the long-running action franchise. While it’s great to see that things are finally in motion for the final movie in the Fast & Furious saga, the franchise’s long-term plan is less clear.

There are several Fast & Furious projects that have been announced over the past few years, from an all-female reboot to multiple character-based spinoffs that clearly intend to keep the franchise alive following the conclusion of the main series. However, this looks increasingly unlikely as the focus on Fast 11 is seemingly detracting from this overarching plan.

Hobbs & Shaw 2 Should Be A Priority For Fast & Furious

Unfortunately, the lack of updates surrounding any of the five Fast & Furious projects reportedly in development makes it difficult to imagine that they’ll make it past the pre-production stage. The franchise has been somewhat stagnant in recent months, with the crew’s full attention going into Fast 11 and making sure this final installment in the main saga is as rewarding and compelling as it can be.

This streamlined focus on Fast 11 is a good short-term plan, but if Fast & Furious wants to continue into the future, the franchise needs to have a very clear directive in place for the spinoffs, sequels, and prequels that are coming next. While other billion-dollar franchises like Star Wars and the MCU have very transparent multi-year plans in place, Fast & Furious’ timeline feels disjointed.

Thankfully, there’s one project in Fast & Furious’ upcoming slate that could offer it a crucial lifeline in the years to come: Hobbs & Shaw 2. Although the original spinoff wasn’t the most well-received among critics, the movie was an enormous box office success that proved just how much engagement there was for these iconic Fast & Furious supporting characters.

Judging by Vin Diesel’s recent comments about Fast 11, it seems like this is going to be his final appearance as Dom Toretto. If that’s the case, the franchise needs another anchor character (or two) to keep fans coming back for more. Hobbs and Shaw are the perfect candidates, as they’ve already proven that they’re capable of leading a movie by themselves.

There will also be some major deaths in Fast 11, but it’s unlikely that Hobbs and Shaw will be among them. It’s more likely that Dom’s close friends, including Han, Letty, or Mia, will be the ones to lose their lives in the final movie, leaving Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham’s characters around to carry the torch.

Additionally, Johnson and Statham are among the only recurring characters in the Fast & Furious series who could rival Diesel as a box office draw. While it would be fun to see characters like Han, Gisele, and even Mr. Nobody lead their own projects in the future, it’s hard to imagine that these actors would sell tickets quite like Johnson and Statham can.

Fast & Furious Needs To Reconsider Its Future After Fast X: Part 2

Ultimately, Fast & Furious’ biggest problem going into the final movie is that none of its upcoming sequels and spinoffs inspire much confidence or excitement. The franchise desperately needs to move in a fresh direction following the poor critical reception of the most recent installments, but there’s nothing on the upcoming slate that indicates things are going to change.

The reported all-female Fast & Furious spinoff sounds interesting on the surface, but many other franchises have proven in the past that these kinds of soft reboots/legacy sequels don’t always perform that well at the box office. Ocean’s Eight and Ghostbusters (2016) are perfect examples, and there’s nothing to indicate that Fast & Furious could pull it off any more effectively.

The Hobbs solo movie could definitely be interesting, given how successful Johnson’s previous movies have been over the past decade, but it ultimately just feels like a downgrade from Hobbs & Shaw. The reason that spinoff worked is almost entirely down to the chemistry between these two actors, and a Hobbs movie without that dynamic wouldn’t feel the same.

This leaves only Hobbs & Shaw 2 with enough potential to get audiences to keep coming back for more Fast & Furious action. In fact, the franchise really seems to have created a major obstacle for itself by marketing Fast X: Part 2 as the “final” movie in this franchise, when there are several spinoffs currently in production. This could confuse audiences even further and alienate some long-time fans.

There’s a very specific path that Fast & Furious needs to take to end the franchise properly, and this includes framing Johnson and Statham as the new faces of the series once the main saga is over. Hobbs & Shaw 2 feels like a natural progression for the long-running action franchise, and it’s the only spin-off in production that actually anchors the “new” era to the classic one that audiences fell in love with.