2. The Series Is Constantly Evolving
If you look at most long-running film franchises, it's clear to see a pattern that repeats from film to film. Take, for example, the Die Hard franchise. Each movie features the same character, facing roughly the same task, that just happens to take place in a different location. Though each movie gets bigger than the last and more action-packed, the general story beats remain the same. The franchise becomes a series of copy-and-paste rehashes and begins to feel stale and overdone by the time a handful of movies have been produced. Justin Lin, who directed films 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the Fast and Furious series, has stated that the length of the series is ultimately its strength. "I want these characters to grow. I don't want them to be sitting here 11 years from the first movie and act exactly the same. I think having that freedom and growth has really been the secret to the success of this franchise." Not only does each film offer something fresh for the characters to face, but the
genre of the series has slowly changed over time as well. The first film was a flashy neo-Noir look at the underground car-racing subculture. The second film felt more like a buddy-cop movie, and the third began to move the series in a more international thriller/heist direction. The fourth film was a quasi-reboot with a "let's bring the gang back together" vibe, and by Fast Five the series had moved into full-blown heist territory. Fast and Furious 6 ditched the car-racing aspect all together, which Universal Chairman Adam Fogelson felt had put a "ceiling" on the franchise and limited its potential audience. By allowing the series to evolve over time, rather than restrict it to the premise it had originally started with, the filmmakers have allowed for character growth and expanded the viewership. What started off as a simple underground racing franchise has quickly become an exciting action packed juggernaut.