Fast And Furious 9’s Space Travel Avoids Its Biggest Mistake

The recently released trailer for F9 seems to confirm The Fast Saga is heading into space, but the franchise isn’t taking the concept too seriously just yet. After being pushed back several times due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ninth installment of the adrenaline-inducing series is finally set to debut in June. According to the trailers, F9 will once again propel the plot to greater heights, figuratively and literally.

Cipher (Charlize Theron) will return as a thorn in Dominic Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) side after wreaking havoc in The Fate of the Furious. However, this time, she has a new weapon in the form of Dom’s bother, Jakob Toretto (John Cena). The long-lost sibling has a vendetta, resulting in new problems for Dom and his crew. While most series regulars will be returning, the reunion is highlighted by the fact that Han Lue (Sung Kang) is seemingly emerging from the dead to rejoin the old group after being presumed dead.

In true Fast & Furious fashion, F9 is set to feature a handful of wild mind-bending stunts. Among them is the presence of a rocket car made from a Pontiac Fiero, first shown in the first F9 trailer. The car can be seen driven by a distressed Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) as it races alongside some kind of jet.

The existence of a rocket car initially spawned rumors, suggesting The Fast Saga was gearing up to explore uncharted territory: space. The theories might be true, but new Fast & Furious 9 footage presented in the second full-length trailer provides more insight into the franchise’s connection to space. To avoid any targeted mocking, the space travel subplot looks to be avoiding a major mistake by turning it into a joke.

At the end of the second F9 trailer, Roman is shown alongside Tej Parker (Ludacris) inside the more advanced version of the modified Fiero. The two are donning what looks to be handmade astronaut suits as the rocket car sits atop a moving plane. With their helmets in place, they hit the “blast off” button before detaching from the plane.

The duo hilariously screams in terror just seconds before the rocket car’s jets power up in mid-air. Rather than cook up a scenario centered on Dom truly heading into space as part of the mission, The Fast Saga looks to be using the subplot through a lighter tone. By using a pair of characters who have a history of banter, especially in tense situations, F9 is clearly using the rocket car sequence in a comedic manner, similar to Roman’s history with the parachute cars in Furious 7.

Even with a working rocket car and space suits, it doesn’t mean Roman and Tej will truly be heading into space for an extended period of time. The Fast Saga has been known to take risks, but full-blown space travel seems out of the franchise’s orbit. Granted, maybe the introduction of rocket cars will open the door for a legitimate space travel story for Dom in the final two movies. His son Brian can be seen playing with a spaceship with Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez) at the start of the F9 trailer. Dom’s time in space might not come in the next movie, but the saga is far from over.

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