Fast & Furious Already Has Its Perfect Toretto Family Replacement For The Next Saga

Summary Fast & Furious franchise may need to replace Toretto family after Fast 11, ending Dom's story.

The Shaw family could be a great replacement with star power and potential to lead a new saga.

The Shaws offer a different direction for the franchise, focusing on crime and espionage, and expanding internationally.

The Fast & Furious franchise has always focused on the Toretto family, but with Dom's future becoming uncertain, there is a perfect replacement already in the movies. Although it was Paul Walker's Brian O'Conner who took on the lead role early on, the Fast & Furious movies only really took off once Vin Diesel returned as Dominic Toretto. This brought a renewed focus around Dom and his "la familia" for every subsequent film. Whether related by blood, marriage, or a shared love for the road, the Fast Saga has been built on the importance of Dom's family.

The franchise has introduced Dom's brother, sister, father, grandmother, son, and cousin, and officially made Letty his wife as part of the expansion of the Toretto family tree. However, with Fast & Furious 11 expected to end the main Fast Saga, there is a strong likelihood that the Toretto storyline will come to a close. This puts the franchise in a familiar spot, as it previously tried and failed to move the series beyond Vin Diesel's character. If replacing the Torettos is necessary, Fast & Furious has an excellent option established who can lead the next saga of films.

Related Fast X Set Up Dom & Letty's Perfect Ending (& Showed How The Franchise Will Continue) A throwaway gag from Fast X could have laid the groundwork for Dom and Letty's ending in the series (and how the franchise could return.)

Fast & Furious Could Need To Replace The Toretto Family After Fast 11

Dom's Story Is Expected To End

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The idea of Fast & Furious 11 ending the Fast Saga, as Diesel has confirmed, indicates that it will be the end of Dom's story. Given the success of the franchise, there is no way Universal will not continue to make Fast & Furious movies in some capacity. This raises the question of what to do in the franchise if Dom is out of the equation. There could be the temptation to keep the Toretto focus going with prequels or a legacy sequel focused on Little Brian. This would limit how much the franchise can truly move on from Dom.

The previous films have done an excellent job of introducing a vast number of characters who could be used to fill this void

Instead of relying on the Toretto name to carry the franchise forward, it would be smarter for Fast & Furious to replace Dom and his entire family. The good news for the series is that the previous films have done an excellent job of introducing a vast number of characters who could be used to fill this void. There are options like Han and Gisele taking the lead roles from Dom and Letty or Luke Hobbs stepping up, giving Dwayne Johnson the franchise leading role at last. Either could work, but Fast & Furious' family focus makes another candidate ideal.

The Shaw Family Can Be The Face Of Fast & Furious After The Torettos

Deckard & His Family Can Do More

The best way for the Fast & Furious franchise to move on from the Toretto family is to embrace an entirely different bloodline, the Shaw family. The Shaw family have strong ties throughout the most recent run of movies and are all mostly well-liked characters audiences would be excited to see take on larger roles. Jason Statham's Deckard has gone from Fast & Furious villain to hero, as has Luke Evans' Owen after his Fast & Furious 6 role. Vanessa Kirby's Hattie stole scenes in Hobbs & Shaw, while Helen Mirren's Queenie frequently pops up for small bits of fun.

Character Actor First Fast & Furious Movie Other Appearances Owen Shaw Luke Evans Fast & Furious 6 Furious 7, The Fate of the Furious Deckard Shaw Jason Statham Fast & Furious 6 post-credits Furious 7, The Fate of the Furious, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, F9 post-credits, Fast X Queenie Shaw Helen Mirren The Fate of the Furious Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, F9, Fast X Hattie Shaw Vanessa Kirby Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw N/A

It would be smart for Fast & Furious to make the Shaw family the lead of the next Fast Saga after the Torettos' storyline has come to an end. For starters, the four established characters provide a lot of star power for future films, with Statham a reliable box office draw and Kirby's profile only getting bigger. The Shaws are also deeply connected to many other Fast & Furious characters, which opens the door for other familiar faces to keep returning, whether that's Han, Cipher, Hobbs, or someone else. Plus, they help keep the franchise's familial focus.

Fast & Furious Can Go In A New Direction With The Shaw Family

The Shaws Are Very Different From The Torettos

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Just because Fast & Furious could focus on another family after the Torettos does not mean that everything would stay the same. The Shaws are very different from the Torettos and would give the franchise a chance to go in new directions. For example, Dom and most of the Torettos became quite heroic despite their previous illegal activities. While the Shaws found redemption in various ways, they are still a criminal-based family who could have larger connections to the criminal underworld than previous installments have shown. Fast & Furious could become more based on crime and espionage as a result.

Making the Shaw family the main focus of the Fast & Furious franchise could also help it further expand internationally. The movies have visited different parts of the world on multiple occasions, but the Torettos are ultimately rooted in Los Angeles. This means the series frequently comes back there. The Shaws are all based out of England and could help future Fast & Furious movies retain a European setting. That would help create a clean break from the Toretto storyline, solving issues about why they aren't appearing as the Shaws save the world from various threats.