The Fast Saga needs to end, and Fast X proves that. Vin Diesel returns as Dominic Toretto on the big screen in Louis Leterrier’s first entry in the car-centric franchise. Despite a tumultuous production, which included the abrupt departure of F9 helmer, Justin Lin due to creative differences, Fast X ultimately delivers on its promise of a fun time at the theaters. That being said, it has also made it explicitly clear that The Fast Saga is finally losing steam and the “La Familia” needs to wrap things up soon.

Dom and his “La Familia” re-assemble in Fast X as they face off with Jason Momoa’s eccentric villain, Dante. While he is being introduced in the movie, he has actually been a part of The Fast Saga for years. The kooky Dante is revealed to be the son of Fast Five‘s villain, Hernan Reyes, who died in the same film at the hands of Dom and his crew. As he seeks revenge against the “La Familia,” Fast X ends on a cliffhanger that sets up the future of the franchise. While Diesel wants to more The Fast Saga films, its latest installment shows the end is near for the series.

5 Fast X’s Had A Disappointing Box Office

As it outgrew its street car racing roots, The Fast Saga fully transformed into an action-adventure fare, which helped in expanding its appeal to the general moviegoers. Films in the franchise have done extremely well in terms of box office, with Furious 7 and Fate of the Furious crossing the $1 billion mark haul, pocketing $1.5 and $1.2 billion, respectively. F9 also had a decent earning of $719 million in the middle of the pandemic. Fast X‘s surprising early VOD release indicates that it’s already being pulled out from theaters, which means that its box office can land somewhere near what its predecessor earned.

While a $700 million global haul isn’t exactly bad, it’s quite disappointing for The Fast Saga, given how it has performed at the box office in recent years. Another factor to consider is Fast X‘s massive budget of $340 million. In comparison, Marvel Studios’ most packed film, Avengers: Infinity War, only spent $300 million on production, and earned more than $2 billion. At this point, The Fast Saga may be looking at diminishing returns, and it’s best to end it before it starts losing money.

4 Fast X Cannot Hide Paul Walker’s Brian For Longer

Paul Walker’s death in the middle of Furious 7 filming posed a difficult problem for The Fast Saga. As the franchise’s co-lead with Diesel, Universal had to find a way to write out Brian O’Conner, explaining his absence from the “La Familia’s” adventures moving forward. Instead of giving the character a tragic ending, Universal decided to send him off on a good note. So in The Fast Saga, Brian is still alive but is now entirely out of the game to focus on raising his family. Fate of the Furious and F9 got away with small references to Brian, just to maintain that he’s still part of the “La Familia.”

That being said, The Fast Saga cannot keep this ruse for much too long as highlighted in Fast X. It’s absurd that even Mia gets involved as Dante comes after them and Brian remains missing in action. For what it’s worth, it’s uncharacteristic for him to just sit back and not do anything when his dear friends are in dire situations. Secondly, if Dante is indeed coming for everyone he blames for the death of his father, then Brian should be in as much danger as Dom or Rock’s Luke Hobbs is.

3 Fast X Showed The Fast Saga Is Running Out Of Ideas

As Fast X officially kicks off what is supposed to be the franchise’s final stretch, it starts to up what will ultimately be the end of The Fast Saga. Surprisingly, this includes revisiting certain elements from previous films, particularly Fast 5. The introduction of Dante means also looking back at Hernan Reyes with a fresh set of eyes. Meanwhile, characters who haven’t been part of the “La Familia’s” missions in the last few years like Hobbs and Gal Gadot’s Giselle are roped back in. Finally, despite being built up to be The Fast Saga’s big bad, Fast X essentially retcons Cipher to be Dom’s ally, albeit begrudgingly.

Being retrospective makes sense since The Fast Saga is starting to culminate. That being said, if a full movie’s plot hinges fully on its predecessors, then it’s starting to feel like the franchise no longer has any original idea. Momoa is fantastic in the role of Dante in Fast X, but this kind of revenge storyline has been done in The Fast Saga before with the Shaw brothers. It would have been better if the movie focused on new elements rather than leaned on The Fast Saga’s past.

2 The Fast Saga Has Fully Outgrown Its Original Premise

Much has been said about how The Fast Saga transitioned from being a franchise centered on small-time criminals to essentially spy agents. Fast X tries to reincorporate street car racing into its narrative, but it’s nothing more than an action set piece in the film instead of a focal point. Dom and the “La Famlia” have done so many car-abled missions in the past, including even going to space in F9. At this point, there’s nowhere else for the film series to go but become bigger, but even that has limits. It would be tricky for The Fast Saga to scale down and revisit its roots.

1 The Fast Saga Is Better Off With Spin-Offs

Dom has always been at the center of The Fast Saga. He is the leader of the “La Familia” and he is the face of the franchise. That being said, the film series has already expanded, with many moving pieces now. Understandably, Universal doesn’t want to let go of a popular IP, but the best way forward is to end the main film line and focus on the spin-offs. While part of its primary storytelling, The Fast & the Furious: Tokyo Drift is separate enough that it is allowed to focus on Han. Despite not featuring the rest of the “La Familia,” it’s one of the most beloved entries in the series.

Universal can use it as a template for its The Fast Saga spin-offs after Fast X and its confirmed sequels. Seeing more of Letty, Cipher, and Giselle work together would be interesting. Similarly, the Agency sounds like an intriguing enough organization to center a movie on. Deckard Shaw and Han could go on a mission, the same with Roman, Tej, and Ramsey. These are all more exciting concepts than seeing a familiar story again for Dom.