It may not be Marvel or Star Wars, but Universal’s Fast & Furious franchise is a money-making machine that just won’t quit. It could always be bigger, and we’ve seen an expansion with the Hobbs & Shaw spinoff featuring stars Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. Turns out that might be the template going forward, as a new rumor says another of the franchise’s top names could be getting their own movie.
According to THR, Universal really wants to expand Fast & Furious to Marvel-esque proportions, and part of that plan is giving Charlize Theron’s villainous character Cipher her own movie…
“And the studio is exploring other ideas, including a female-fronted ‘Fast and Furious’ spinoff built around Charlize Theron’s character Cipher from ‘The Fate of the Furious.’ The question for Universal, says a rep with important talent in the films, is ‘How do you broaden the franchise? How do you Avengers-ize it?’”
The character Cipher was introduced in The Fate of the Furious as a cyber-terrorist who blackmails Dom into working against his “family”. It was one of the most nonsensical stories they’ve had yet, but the film made $1.2B so nobody cares.
You may recall earlier this year Vin Diesel responded to criticism from co-star Michelle Rodriguez by confirming writers for an all-female Fast & the Furious movie. Those writers are Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy), Lindsey Beer (Sierra Burgess is a Loser), and Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Captain Marvel). There’s a good chance this is the same project, but until we know more it’s too early to say.
Interestingly, Theron recently appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (via IOL) and claimed to be totally in the dark about her future in the franchise…
“Nobody’s called me, so I have a feeling I might not be in it.”
That was specifically about Fast & Furious 9, however, not about a possible Cipher spinoff. Perhaps she knew more than she was letting on?
Next up is Hobbs & Shaw which opens on August 2nd. Fast & Furious 9 was recently moved to May 22nd 2020.
