Vin Diesel Confirms New 'Fast & Furious' Trilogy
— -- Just two weeks after revealing the title of the 8th film in the "Fast & Furious" franchise, Vin Diesel has confirmed that there will be a 9th and 10th film in the series, and revealed the release dates for the final trilogy of the street racing saga.
Diesel announced the news through a series of posts on his social media accounts on Tuesday. The first hint came after the 48-year-old actor posted a photo of him riding in a silver car with his daughter Hania, 7, in the passenger seat.
"Happy Toretto Tuesday... P.s. The studio has asked me to release some very big Fast news," Diesel wrote in the caption. "Give me a minute though, for I am still in that Xander state of Mind."
Xander is the name of the character Diesel will portray in the upcoming film "xXx: The Return of Xander Cage." The action film will be released in 2017.
In the next photo he posted, Diesel is pictured shirtless and holding a skateboard. In the caption Diesel states that although he prefers to stay in character based on the projects he's currently working on, the actor had to break character in order to share the exciting "Fast & Furious" news with his fans.
"Xander returns.... As most of you know I like to stay in character for the most part when given the opportunity to make magic. However, it was Toretto Tuesday and the studio gave me big news to share... So I will share it," Diesel wrote.
The last photo Diesel posted served as confirmation of the news that the "Fast & Furious" franchise would be releasing two more installments in addition to the already announced 8th movie, bringing the total film count to 10 films over a 20-year period.
The original film, "The Fast and the Furious," premiered in June 2001.
"2 Decades, 10 Films, 1 Saga," the text in the photo reads, along with the dates for the final three films. The 8th, 9th, and 10th films will be released in 2017, 2019, and 2021, respectively.