If you had told us back in 2001, when we sat down to watch The Fast and the Furious in cinemas, that the franchise would become one of the most outrageous box office behemoths, we would have thought you were crazy. But we’ve come a long way, and so have the characters. In fact, two of them took a trip into space at one point, for which the head of Universal Pictures has finally apologized.

While talking at the Toronto International Film Festival, Donna Langley, the chairperson and Chief Content Officer of Universal Studios, acknowledged that launching the Fast & Furious series into space was maybe crossing a line. “Between four and five is when we made a conscious decision to pivot to a globe-trotting, heist-type scenario,” she explained. “Sorry we sent them to space. We can never get that genie back.”

Even in a film series that has thrived on escalating both the stakes and the action in each entry, watching two characters ride a rocket car into space to stop a rogue satellite weapon was a step too far for many fans. We’re not arguing that the series should be grounded, but maybe they should keep the racing on the ground.

Even though Donna Langley admits it was not the best decision to send the Fast & Furious series into space, the franchise remains a box office powerhouse, with the most recent entry, 2023’s Fast X, grossing more than $714 million and a sequel is due out in 2027.

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