Vin Diesel confirms sixth and seventh 'Fast and the Furious' films

It's hard to argue with success, and the Fast and the Furious franchise has proven it's resiliency to those who thought it would've died years earlier. Actually, the car enthusiast's dream action series has only gotten stroner, with this year's Fast Five earning the best reviews yet, as well as the highest box office($601M) of them all. Not bad after ten years, when the street racing fad has mostly petered out.

Fast Five's acclaim can be mostly attributed to smart planning and forward thinking by star Vin Diesel and director Justin Lin, who broadened the scope by subtly shifting away from hot cars(although not completely away) and more into action/heist territory. Bringing in Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a key component was the shot in the arm they needed, and along with a return of some other series favorites, the franchise is stronger than ever. We've been hearing talk of sequels for months now, with the most recent rumors stating that the next story would be huge, spanning two films possibly shot back-to-back. Now Vin Diesel has come out and confirmed with THR that the sixth and seventh flicks will indeed be one gigantic adventure....

Diesel: “With the success of this last one, and the inclusion of so many characters, and the broadening of scope, when we were sitting down to figure out what would fit into the real estate of number six, we didn’t have enough space.”

He also revealed that series scribe, Chris Morgan, would be writing both films at the same time, although that doesn't mean they'll be filmed back-to-back.  It would seem to make the most sense, though, as a time and cost saving measure. Cutting down on lag time between two halves of the same story could be essential in maintaining the momentum they've built up.

Without spoiling too much, the conclusion of Fast Five set up the next story by showcasing the return of Eva Mendes as US Customs agent Monica Fuentes. It also marked the return of a character long thought permanently removed from the series.  The question now is whether they'll add another shot of testosterone, by say....bringing in Jason Statham?