Netflix has quietly dropped seven huge films from one of the biggest movie franchises of all time – and they all star a beloved late actor.
The Fast and Furious franchise, which first started 24 years ago, has produced a whopping 10 films in its main story and one spin-off movie, Hobbs & Shaw.
Starring – among many others – Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jason Statham, the Fast and Furious franchise has grossed over $7billion (£5.2bn) at the global box office.
And on Saturday, Netflix sneakily dropped seven films from the franchise, which all star late actor Paul Walker, as well as spin-off movie Hobbs & Shaw.
That means Netflix viewers in the UK can now watch The Fast and the Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, Fast & Furious 7, and Hobbs & Shaw.
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However, rather curiously, despite the recent Netflix drop, Fast & Furious – the fourth film in the series – is still not available to watch on Netflix in the UK.
Walker – who played Brian O’Connor in the Fast and Furious series – was the passenger in a Porsche GT travelling at 90mph when it spun out of control, killing both Walker and his driver friend Roger Rodas.
At just 40 years old, Walker’s death saddened millions of movie fans across the world, and 2015 film Fast & Furious 7 was dedicated to his memory.
After starring in the 90s teen comedy She’s All That, Walker joined the Fast and Furious series for its very first film – 2001’s The Fast and the Furious.
He then appeared in sequel films 2 Fast 2 Furious and Fast & Furious after skipping the third film Tokyo Drift, which featured almost none of the original cast and was an informal prequel film to the main series.
After apparently being reluctant to reprise his role for the fourth film, Walker was fully on board for films five and six, which saw the Fast and Furious achieve its best-ever box office finishes.
Walker hadn’t finished filming for Fast & Furious 7 by the time of his death, resulting in his brothers Caleb and Cody standing in for him while producers used CGI to add the final touches.
In an emotional farewell scene – constructed after Walker’s death – his character Brian drives off into the sunset while Vin Diesel’s character Dom Toretto rides alongside him.
The tearjerker moment helped Fast & Furious 7 become the best-reviewed film of the entire franchise at the time, and the song playing in the scene – See You Again by Wiz Khalifa – reached number one in the UK and US charts.
While the Fast and Furious main series has carried on since then, reaching 10th film, Fast X, in 2023, some fans consider Fast & Furious 7 to be the end of an era for the franchise.
To date, the 82% score on Rotten Tomatoes for Fast & Furious 7 still makes it the most highly rated and critically acclaimed film in the whole series.
While it wasn’t made available on Netflix this time around, the fourth film Fast & Furious – which stars Walker as Brian in his third appearance in the series – is available on Amazon Video.
Watch seven Fast and Furious films on Netflix.
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