The ninth Fast and Furious film is finally out in the world and we know there will be at least two more movies in the franchise, as the tenth film is set to be broken into two parts. However, that doesn't mean that two more movies is all we're going to get. With one spinoff already in the books, the possibility for others is certainly out there, and there have been plans for at least one more spinoff in the works. It turns out that there is a script for a new spinoff that is currently being written, but it's maybe not the movie we're expecting, as it's apparently a star vehicle for Charlize Theron's Cipher.
The confirmation comes from Vin Diesel who told Variety that a script for a Cipher movie is currently being worked on. At this point, that's literally all that's been confirmed, so we don't know anything about the movie itself or how it will fit into the larger franchise. The idea of a Cipher spinoff first popped up a couple of years ago but we hadn't heard anything about it since so it was unclear if it was still an active concern.
Charlize Theron's character is only introduced in The Fate of the Furious, but it's referenced there that she's been pulling the strings during the conflicts in earlier films as well. A movie about Cipher could be a prequel that explains the character's origins or it could follow on the events of F9 or even be a post-script on the entire franchise. Fast and Furious 10 is set to begin filming early next year, and since the Cipher movie is still in the script stage, it likely won't be coming out until after those films.
Things have been relatively quiet on the Fast & Furious spinoff front of late. There seemed to be plans for a Hobbs & Shaw sequel following that move's success, but we haven't heard of anything moving forward recently. There is also reportedly a spinoff planned that would focus on the women of the franchise, but nothing official has ever been announced.
Of course, there's always the possibility that a movie about Cipher actually is the female spinoff that we've heard about. Unless the idea is to make the movie a true prequel set prior to the events of the franchise, it would seem likely that other Fast & Furious characters could appear in it, so why not all the women? Either way, this still qualifies as a "female-led spinoff" which is what fans have been promised.
However it shakes out, while the idea for this film is a bit of a surprise, it's a great idea overall. Charlize Theron is great and while the last two Fast & Furious movies have let her vamp and quip with the best of them, she honestly hasn't really had a chance to do that much. One assumes a Cipher movie would put her right in the middle of the action, a place we know Charlize Theron is very comfortable.
