“I loved the idea of this crew that acts like a family,” Morgan says.
“Technically they started out as thieves, but they stand for something bigger, which is each other.
But they were like, ‘Listen, we’re definitely not doing that.
But the thing that everyone universally said was, ‘Oh my God, Vin is coming back!’
“There’s always surprises and reveals and things that turn the characters’ worlds on their heads.
And when going bigger, there’s no one more fitting of the title than Dwayne Johnson.
“Dom, Brian, and Mia are on the run, and someone is chasing them.
Not a villain, but a contagonist; he is the most effective hunter of outlaws that exists.
Everybody was on board.
We went to Dwayne, he loved it, and he was in.”
For some, it’s become a running joke, but not to Morgan.
“I think that’s the heart of theFast & Furiousfranchise,” he says.
More than money, more than titles, more than their cars, they value their relationships.
I’ve said it before, and even Dwayne says it, the F-word for theFastfranchise isfamily.
It’s almost become like a drinking game: Any time someone saysfamily, you take a drink.
And I think the audience recognizes that and appreciates it.”
“Sung Kang is a great friend, and Han is a character that I adore.
Justice for Han is owed.
It’s something we have discussed for a very long time and want to give the right due to.
I think the audience will be satisfied and should know it’s coming.
It tortures him, and he’s going to get to it.”
But the director and theFastfamily would soon be dealt a heartbreaking loss.
“It was devastating beyond words,” Morgan recalls.
“The character of Brian is the eyes of the audience into the world; he is us.
That is just the level of people that adored him.
I think maybe some didn’t realize how much he had meant to them.”
The final verdict was that they needed to finish, for Walker.
There was a real moment where the studio was considering shutting the film down and just not completing it.
And everyone truly believed in their heart that Paul would want that.
So then we said, ‘Okay, well how do we do it?’
I went through all the footage we had of him fromFast Fiveon that we hadn’t used.
Basically, we’d take him in those takes and then rewrite everybody else’s dialogue around him.
There’s no other option of anything but that.
Again, we all linked arms and dug back in.
It’s the thing that I’m most proud of.
It felt like a very cathartic thing for everyone who lovesFast.”
And somehow they keep topping themselves.
That was one of the conceits that kind of came out of nowhere.
That’s the goal."
What gets me excited and makes me want to cheer?
How do we use vehicles in a way we haven’t thought about before?
There is a caveat to this, which is the old physics debate.
I’d cite the runway at the end ofFast 6as an example.
If so, yes."
And with the stakes getting higher and higher, where does Morgan draw the line?
Let’s just say he’s willing to go out of this world.
“I would never shoot down space,” he says.
“Never, never.
I would literally never shoot down anything, as long as it hits the parameters: Is it badass?
Will the audience love it?
And will it not break faith with the audience as they’re watching it?
I’m down for whatever.”
“There has always been an agenda to expand theFastuniverse,” he says.
We’ve just kind of been talking about it in the background, untilFast 8.
Leaving that set, my cheeks were hurting because I had been laughing so hard all day.
They’re fun and kind of perfect for what a spin-off should be.
The last thing they want to do is work together.
“On a daily basis,” he says with a laugh.
It’s a testament to how much the audience bonds to these particular characters and what they represent.
“The thing I love about the spin-offs is that it lets you delve deeper into these characters.
I would love to see more of that with some of our other core characters as well.
I think they have incredible backstories and journeys and gauntlets that I would love to run them through.
We just have to wait and see how everyone responds.
It’s a really fun idea, so we’ll see what happens down the road.”
“I love these movies.
It’s not just a job, it means something to me.”
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shawopens Friday.
