How can you tell that a movie franchise has gotten out of control? When a studio orders a sequel to a film that hasn’t even been released yet.
“Fast and Furious 7” has been given a July 11, 2014 release date. Star Vin Diesel making the announcement this week at CinemaCon. However, “Fast and Furious 6” doesn’t hit theaters until next month (May 24). Production on the “new” film (“7”, not “6”) is set to begin in August, right after the stars finish promoting the “old” new film. Other franchises have released movies in back-to-back years – but in those cases (“Pirates of the Caribbean:Dead Man’s Chest” (2006) and “At World’s End” (2007); “The Hobbits” for 3 straight Decembers) they were shot at the same time.
Diesel says “F&F” regulars Dwayne Johnson, John Walker and Tyrese will all return for “7” – which I guess means none of them will be getting killed-off in “6”.
Wouldn’t it just be easier to turn “Fast and Furious” into a TV series – for HBO or Showtime? They could produce 12 episodes a year and then everybody could take a break.