See How the “Fast and Furious” Stars Have Changed from Their First Movie to Their Latest Appearance in the Franchise

Strap in for a super-charged ride through the history of the Fast and Furious franchise and its biggest stars.

For over two decades, The Fast and the Furious franchise has been thrilling fans with sleek cars, high-speed races, elaborate heists and even espionage. Beginning with The Fast and the Furious in 2001, the franchise has released a total of 10 films, two short movies, a TV series and a spinoff film, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.

In addition to its action, the franchise is known for its star-studded cast, from original members like Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Michelle Rodriguez to newcomers including Ludacris, Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, Jason Statham and Helen Mirren.

Although the franchise’s main series of films is set to end with an 11th film in 2027, Ludacris commented on how it will continue to live on.

“A lot of other franchises, they may end, but they don’t really end,” Ludacris told PEOPLE in March 2024. “It’s almost like the beginning of something new, so I don’t feel like it’ll ever truly end either, but you never know.”

Here’s a look at the major Fast and Furious stars during their first and latest appearances in the franchise’s films.

01 of 06

Vin Diesel

Vin Diesel was launched into stardom for his role as the loyal, strong-willed — and sometimes volatile — franchise co-lead Dominic “Dom” Toretto. Dom goes from an auto mechanic involved in carjackings and heists to carrying out illicit jobs for government agencies.

He has been a main protagonist in nearly every film of the franchise, from 2001’s The Fast and the Furious to the franchise’s upcoming final film in 2027.

After initially gaining recognition for his role in Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, Diesel became known as an action star in other franchises like XXX and The Chronicles of Riddick.

He has also shown off his voice acting chops in roles like the titular character in 1999’s The Iron Giant and in multiple Marvel projects, including Guardians of the Galaxy, as the one-word talking tree Groot.

Diesel previously dated his Fast and Furious co-star Rodriguez around the time of the first film’s release. Today, he’s in a long-term relationship with Mexican model Paloma Jiménez and the couple have three children together.

02 of 06

Michelle Rodriguez

Michelle Rodriguez has been with the Fast and Furious franchise since her 2001 debut as the tough-nosed Letty Ortiz, a skilled driver, mechanic and wife of Dominic Toretto.

Rodriguez and the character she plays are known for being tough and strong-minded with a touch of rebellion, which she spoke about to PEOPLE in March 2025.

“You don’t want to be pushed around or [let] anybody to tell [you that you] can’t get to the other side of the river. I’m going to get there one way or another. I don’t care which way everybody else is going,” the actress said. “That’s the rebellion. All it is is just sticking to who you are.”

Rodriguez has used this mentality while doing other work, including portraying Rain Ocampo in the Resident Evil franchise and Captain Trudy Chacón in Avatar. Rodriguez also starred in the action exploitation films Machete and Machete Kills, and has provided her voice acting talents to films like Turbo and Smurfs: Lost Village.

After The Fast and the Furious, Rodriguez didn’t appear until the franchise’s fourth film, Fast & Furious, but has starred in every film since Fast & Furious 6 and is expected to return in the franchise’s final film.

03 of 06

Jordana Brewster

Jordana Brewster plays Dom’s loyal, caring and brave sister Mia Toretto, who becomes the wife of franchise co-lead Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) and mother of their children.

Brewster has continued to play Mia in all but the franchise’s second and third films, with her character expected to return for the franchise’s final film in 2027.

Brewster spoke to PEOPLE about her and other characters’ roles in the franchise as strong women in September 2021.

“We just were these archetypes of like a very strong woman,” she said. “We’re not catering to the guys in any way, we’re not secondary to them, and I feel like we’ve always represented really strong women, which is something I’m super proud of.”

Brewster married producer Andrew Form, whom she met on the set of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning in 2006 and shares two children with. After she and Form divorced in 2021, she married ValueAct Capital CEO Mason Morfit in 2022.

04 of 06

Tyrese Gibson

Tyrese Gibson stormed into the Fast and Furious franchise in 2 Fast 2 Furious as the hot-tempered, wisecracking, skilled racer and former convict Roman Pearce.

Gibson initially replaced Vin Diesel as the co-lead actor alongside Walker, which is why they differentiated Roman from Dom with humor.

“Everything about [Walker] and our banter and our true collaboration with 2 Fast, it was a plan that we came up with,” Gibson told Entertainment Weekly in June 2021.

Gibson returned in Fast Five and has been in every movie since, with his fate left ambiguous in Fast X. Gibson has also starred as Sgt. Robert Epps in the Transformers franchise and has been in action films like Four Brothers and Morbius.

Gibson is also a Platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated R&B singer under the moniker “Tyrese,” best known for his 2002 hit “How You Gonna Act Like That.”

Gibson has a daughter with his first wife, Norma Mitchell, whom he was married to from 2007 to 2009, and has a daughter with his ex-wife Samantha Lee, whom he was married to from 2017 to 2022. As of 2021, Tyrese is dating Zelie Timothy.

05 of 06

Ludacris

Ludacris plays the humble and collected technical expert, mechanic and former street racer Tej Parker. Tej becomes friends with Brian and later joins Dom’s crew, usually teaming up with Roman on missions.

Ludacris’ first major acting role was Tej in 2 Fast 2 Furious, which he reprised in every movie in the franchise since Fast Five. Tej’s fate was left unclear in Fast X.

“The last one was open-ended, so to speak. It kind of left people hanging,” Ludacris told PEOPLE in March 2024. “I feel like we are definitely going to come back at some point very soon to surprise everyone. Will it be the last? I don’t know, but we shall see.”

Ludacris also gained notoriety as an actor with his breakout performance in the Academy Award-winning 2004 drama Crash and continued acting in films like Gamer, New Year’s Eve and End of the Road.

He’s best known as one of the most popular rappers of the 2000s, having sold millions of albums, racked up Grammy nominations and released hit songs like Stand Up.

Ludacris is a father to four daughters, born between 2001 and 2021.

06 of 06

Dwayne Johnson

Dwayne Johnson joined the Fast and Furious franchise as the resourceful, courageous and intelligent US Diplomatic Security Service agent and bounty hunter Luke Hobbs in Fast Five.

Not only has Johnson been in Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7 and The Fate of the Furious — along with a cameo in Fast X after his character’s retirement — but he also led the Hobbs & Shaw spinoff alongside Jason Statham’s Luke Shaw.

After starring in The Mummy franchise, Johnson worked on family films like The Game Plan and Tooth Fairy before his role in The Fast and Furious franchise helped him become one of the biggest box office stars on the planet.

He’s helmed mega franchises like Jumanji, played a morally ambiguous superhero in Black Adam and has voiced Maui in Disney’s Moana franchise, which he will also portray in the live-action adaptation prior to returning as Hobbs in the final Fast and Furious film.

Before acting, Johnson was first known as The Rock, one of the world’s most successful wrestlers in the late 1990s and early 2000s as one of the faces of the Attitude Era and a 10-time World Champion.

Johnson has two daughters with his first wife Dany Garcia and two daughters with his wife Lauren Hashian, whom he’s been married to since 2019.

Read the original article on People