‘Fast & Furious’ Franchise Coming To An End, But How Is Matt Damon Responsible For Multi-Part Finale?

Rumors have started to swirl that the end is nigh for the Fast & Furious franchise.

The seventh installment to the hugely popular franchise, which has developed into a critical success as each new film has been released, is set to be released next year. And according to Deadline it’s now believed that Universal is currently working out the logistics for how to bring the entire saga to an end. And it turns out that Matt Damon’s intervention is why there will be more Fast & Furious films.

That’s because Justin Lin, whose work on 2009’s Fast & Furious, 2011’s Fast Five, and 2013’s Fast & Furious 6 helped to save the franchise from turning into a parody of itself, was previously set to direct Jeremy Renner in an Aaron Cross film for the Bourne brand. However, now that Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass have confirmed that they’d like to return to the Bourne franchise, a Jason Bourne film will now take precedence over Aaron Cross.

This news came at the same time that the trailer for Furious 7 was watched 100 million times over the space of 48 hours. Deadline has now predicted that they will use the delay to Jeremy Renner and Justin Lin’s Aaron Cross adventure to ask the director to make the final Fast & Furious films.

“I expect Lin and Universal to begin talking again about him directing a multi-part production that will lead to multiple movies shot together and will wave the checkered flag on the Fast & Furious franchise.”

That would certainly be a win-win situation for Universal. Not only would they get another addition to the Bourne franchise that involves both Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass, a combination that proved to be hugely popular with 2004’s The Bourne Supremacy and 2007’s The Bourne Ultimatum, but they would else get further Fast & Furious films from the director who saved the series.

However, you can imagine that Justin Lin might not be pleased with having to return for another Fast & Furious film. Lin has already worked on four out of the seven installments of the series and he is clearly trying to move into new cinematic territory by working on the sequel to The Bourne Legacy.

It’s safe to say though that Universal will be able to get their man as they will probably offer him an inordinate amount of money to oversee the final Fast & Furious films. Plus, they are also likely to offer him the incentive that he’ll be able to direct any movie he wants to make after the blockbusters are complete, too. Like I said, it’s going to be win-win for everyone involved.