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The Fast and Furious timeline: how to watch the franchise in order

And you thought the Star Wars series was complicated.

By Tom Eames

10 Feb 2023

Fast X is speeding into cinemas this May to mark the beginning of the end for the Fast & Furious series.

The first part of a sure-to-be epic two-part finale to the Fast saga is sure to have plenty of surprises for long-running fans. Based on the series to date, that could be characters returning from the dead or even a timeline shift.

You might think that the lucrative series about cars that go vroom (and often boom) would be really straightforward, but you'd be wrong. Dom and his familia have been on an epic journey and if you want to catch up ahead of Fast X, you'll need to plan out your rewatch.

We're here to help with the ultimate chronological order to the entire Fast & Furious series. From timeline switching to canon short movies, we've got your one-stop guide to watching the series in chronological order.

Our guide is equally useful if you're diving into the franchise for the first time, but be warned, you'll be hooked before you know it. Slight spoilers within…

1. The Fast and the Furious (2001)

Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store

Introducing:

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel)
Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker)
Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez)
Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster)
Vince (Matt Schulze)
Hector (Noel Gugliemi)
Agent Bilkins (Thom Barry)

Based on a newspaper article about street racers, the film that started it all focused on undercover police officer Brian and his attempt to infiltrate ex-convict Dom's gang.

Essentially a remake of Point Break (but even better), Brian can't help but get seduced by Dom's 'ride or die' attitude, and the rest is history. Little did we know that the film would kick off one of the highest-grossing franchises ever made, especially considering what came next…

2. Turbo-Charged Prelude (2003)

Returning:

Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker)

A largely mute short film that bridges the gap between the first and second movies. It was released on the DVD of 2 Fast 2 Furious, but now you can watch it on YouTube above. It explains how Brian was eventually arrested by the LAPD for letting Dom go.

It also explains just how Brian was able to turn himself into a street king in such a short space of time despite being a wanted man. Plus, Friday Night Lights star Minka Kelly appears as a character known purely as 'Girl'. Sadly, she didn't return.

3. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store

Returning:

Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker)
Agent Bilkins (Thom Barry)

Introducing:

Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson)
Tej Parker (Ludacris)
Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes)

Easily the worst movie in the franchise, but it still had its moments and welcomed future franchise stalwarts Roman and Tej. Plus, Brian is peak bro in this film, a personality trait that we didn't witness before or since, and it's a beauty to behold.

The only film in the franchise not to feature Vin at all, it's a wonder that the series was able to survive after this silly sequel. But the later films still found a way of connecting it to the overall series, which is damn impressive.

Even X-Men pretended The Last Stand and Origins: Wolverine didn't happen.

4. Los Bandoleros (2009)

Returning:

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel)
Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez)

Introducing:

Han (Sung Kang)
Tego Leo (Tego Calderón)
Rico Santos (Don Omar)

This second short DVD extra film helps bring fans up to date before Vin's full comeback in Fast & Furious, and introduces new characters Han, Rico and Tego (although Han first appeared in Tokyo Drift, but we'll get onto that).

It shows what Dom had been up to in the Dominican Republic, and how he rekindled his relationship with Letty. Annoyingly, the one thing it doesn't explain is how the hell Brian went from street dude at the end of 2 Fast, to a kick-ass FBI agent in Fast & Furious, but we'll let it ~~power~~ slide. Check it out on YouTube above.

5. Fast & Furious (2009)

Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store

Returning:

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel)
Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker)
Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez)
Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster)
Han (Sung Kang)
Tego Leo (Tego Calderon)
Rico Santos (Don Omar)

Introducing:

Gisele (Gal Gadot)
Agent Michael Stasiak (Shea Whigham)
Arturo Braga (John Ortiz)

While this wasn't a perfect movie, it was definitely a huge improvement and got people interested in these characters once again. Though, they could have called it something else, surely?

Brian and Dom are face-to-face once more, and the ultimate action movie bromance is born.

6. Fast Five (Fast & Furious 5) (2011)

Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store

Returning:

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel)
Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker)
Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster)
Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson)
Tej Parker (Ludacris)
Han (Sung Kang)
Gisele (Gal Gadot)
Vince (Matt Schulze)
Tego Leo (Tego Calderon)
Rico Santos (Don Omar)
Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes – post-credits)

Introducing:

Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson)
Elena Neves (Elsa Pataky)

Now, THIS film made people stand up and say "Shit, since when did Fast and Furious films get awesome?" Dropping the street racing focus and shifting to heist action certainly helped, but also introducing 'franchise-saver' Dwayne Johnson into the mix was inspired.

Roman and Tej were back from the second film, and even Vince from the very first movie returned to make one bloated cast list that somehow worked perfectly.

7. Fast & Furious 6 (2013)

Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store

Returning:

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel)
Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker)
Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez)
Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson)
Tej Parker (Ludacris)
Han (Sung Kang)
Giselle (Gal Gadot)
Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson)
Elena Neves (Elsa Pataky)
Agent Michael Stasiak (Shea Whigham)
Arturo Braga (John Ortiz)

Introducing:

Owen Shaw (Luke Evans)
Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham – post-credits)

We picked this as our favourite Fast & Furious movie so far. After surpassing everyone's expectations in Fast Five (they decided to be Furious again in this one), it upped the ante with its insane action sequences and settled on a perfect crew – and seeing The Rock smash London to bits is worth the ticket price alone.

Letty was back after one movie away, and that moment when The Stath suddenly shows up when you're least suspecting it was one of the best post-credit reveals ever.

8. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store

Returning:

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel – cameo)
Han (Sung Kang)

Introducing:

Sean Boswell (Lucas Black)
Neela Ezar (Nathalie Kelley)
Twinkie (Bow Wow)
Earl Hu (Jason Tobin)

This is where it gets truly confusing. Although this was the third film to be released, it's actually the sixth film chronologically.

This sidestep to Tokyo dropped Dom and Brian and focused on future 'drift king' Sean. They could easily have just kept this as a spin-off movie that had little to do with the overall franchise, but in true geek-style they made the climax for the film an important plot device for a sequel that arrived nine years later.

Essentially this was all down to Han, who is killed off in this film, but everyone loved him so much that they came up with a way of bringing him back into the narrative by delaying the inevitable (complete with hilarious conversation about him 'moving to Tokyo' at every opportunity).

It didn't make sense as to why Sean appeared to age 10 years in between scenes in the next film, but oh well. Also, try to ignore all the 2006 technology hanging around and pretend that Han and co just loved being all retro.

If you wanted to geek out even further, Han actually appears in the film Better Luck Tomorrow, also directed by Justin Lin (who directed Tokyo Drift to 6).

9. Furious 7 (Fast & Furious 7) (2015)

Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store

Returning:

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel)
Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker)
Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez)
Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster)
Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson)
Tej Parker (Ludacris)
Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson)
Sean Boswell (Lucas Black)
Elena Neves (Elsa Pataky)
Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham)
Hector (Noel Gugliemi – cameo)
Owen Shaw (Luke Evans – cameo)

Introducing:

Mr Nobody (Kurt Russell)
Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel)

Finally making Tokyo Drift part of the main plot (and thus meaning sadly finally saying goodbye to Han... or does it), the franchise was no longer technically one big prequel series, as the remaining crew faced off against their biggest problem to date: Jason Statham.

It became one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, and managed to handle the passing of lead star Paul Walker remarkably well.

10. The Fate of the Furious (Fast & Furious 8) (2017)

Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store

Returning:

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel)
Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez)
Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson)
Tej Parker (Ludacris)
Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson)
Elena Neves (Elsa Pataky)
Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham)
Mr Nobody (Kurt Russell)
Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel)
Owen Shaw (Luke Evans)
Tego Leo (Tego Calderon – cameo)
Rico Santos (Don Omar – cameo)

Introducing:

Eric Reisner (Scott Eastwood)
Cipher (Charlize Theron)
Magdalene Shaw (Helen Mirren)

With Brian and Mia in retirement, Dom is forced to go rogue and betray his family after big baddie Cipher blackmails him into working for her.

Mr Nobody enlists Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw into working with Hobbs and his team to track down Dom and take down Cipher and... save the world in the process.

11. Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)

Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store

Returning:

Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson)
Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham)
Magdalene Shaw (Helen Mirren)

Introducing:

Hattie Shaw (Vanessa Kirby)
Brixton (Idris Elba)
Madam M (Eiza González)
Jonah Hobbs (Cliff Curtis)
Mateo Hobbs (Roman Reigns)

Hobbs and Shaw are forced to team up to take down cyber-genetically enhanced bad guy Brixton, to stop a bio-threat that could change humanity forever.

And it's a family affair as Shaw's sister Hattie is along for the ride, as well as the extended family of Hobbs in Samoa, as the reluctant heroes have to save the world (again).

Given that Hobbs is unlikely to return in the two-part finale, we wouldn't be surprised if this spin-off ended up being ignored entirely from Fast canon, although the Shaw family are all back in Fast X.

12. Fast and Furious 9 (2021)

Watch Now: Prime Video | iTunes | Microsoft Store

Returning:

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel)
Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez)
Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson)
Tej Parker (Ludacris)
Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster)
Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel)
Han (Sung Kang)
Magdalene Shaw (Helen Mirren)
Cipher (Charlize Theron)
Sean Boswell (Lucas Black)
Twinkie (Bow Wow)
Earl Hu (Jason Tobin)
Agent Michael Stasiak (Shea Whigham – cameo)
Rico Santos (Don Omar – cameo)
Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham – post-credits)

Introducing:

Jakob Toretto (John Cena)
Leysa (Cardi B)
Elle (Anna Sawai)
Buddy (Michael Rooker)
Jack Toretto (JD Pardo)

Dom faces his most dangerous adversary yet in Fast & Furious 9 – his long-lost and previously-unheard-of brother Jakob Toretto.

It's up to Dom's crew to save the world again as Jakob goes after another technological MacGuffin, Project Aries, that could control every weapons system in the world, and he might be working with Cipher to get his hands on it.

But wait, that's not all, Han is back – and he's alive! Yep, turns out that Mr Nobody faked Han's death in Tokyo, and he's now firmly back with the familia.

Technically, if you're being rigid with your chronological order, you'd have to watch the flashbacks in F9 before every other movie as they tell the story of the death of Dom and Jakob's father back in 1989. Vinnie Bennett and Finn Cole take on the roles of young Dom and Jakob, respectively.

But since they're scattered throughout the movie, that might make it a bit tricky, so it's okay if you just watch them now.

Fast X is released in cinemas on May 19.