The Fate of the Furious is officially a big hit and with release dates already set for the next two installments, it's already time to start figuring out who will be in and who will be out of Fast and Furious 9. While we would expect most or all of Dominic Torreto's team to return, Kurt Russell's character Mr. Nobody is by no means a guarantee for the next entry. Although, the actor is clearly willing to return as he's much more open to sequels now than he once was. According to Russell...
Well, all my life I've never been one for sequels and stuff. I've done it one time with Escape From LA, which was from Escape From New York, which was 17 years earlier. But we live in a different time now. We live in a time where that's the norm. I've never had anything against it, I just think that each time what I think they've learned now, is that you can't just throw a sequel out there because you did good business. You have to go after it to make it even better. It puts more pressure on you. That, I like! That, I think, is a challenge, and every time you look at what it is, and if you like it and you think you've got a reason to do it, you do it. If there's not you don't.
It's remarkable just how correct Kurt Russell is about the way that sequels have changed over the last few years. Sequels used to be almost universally bad and were generally criticized by all corners. Today, sequels are the norm as every major studio has at least one major franchise which is expected to run for multiple movies. However, there is an understanding that, for the most part, you can't simply make a sequel for its own sake. Work is being put into all of them to make sure that they are still good movies in their own right.
It's clear from Kurt Russell's comments to Screen Rant that what he's really looking for in his projects is a challenge. If a sequel is just going through the motions in order to bring in solid box office then he's not interested, but if they're actually going to try to improve on their previous entries, then that's a challenge he can get behind. Based on that, it would seem that Russell is certainly willing to return as Mr. Nobody in another Fast and Furious movie since it is clearly a series that tries to do better than what came before.
We'd guess that the next film in the franchise will have a place for Kurt Russell if he wants it. Watching him harass his trainee, "Little Nobody" played by Scott Eastwood, was one of the highlights of The Fate of the Furious. Russell will next be seen in another sequel, but for a franchise that's new to him, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
