FILM · 2009 · USA
Fast & Furious
28 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (28)
- #001
Vin Diesel (Dom) initially wanted to make the fourth and fifth films back to back, but Universal decided to take some time to see how the fourth film would turn out before moving on to the fifth. Before this fourth film, which is available on DVD, Diesel was allowed to direct Los Bandoleros (2009), an eighteen-minute short film set in the Fast & Furious world. The short introduces Leo and Santos (Don Omar and Tego Calderon) and establishes Dom's friendship with Han (Sung Kang) that was mentioned in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006).
- #002
The film takes place before the events of the third film, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006). Sung Kang plays Han in both films, and Han died in Tokyo Drift. But the character was so loved that director Justin Lin brought him back for this film, so that the events occur after 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) but before The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006). When Dominic tells Han to go his own way, he says he is going to Tokyo, and he eventually becomes a key character in the third film after Fast & Furious 6 (2013).
- #003
Around 240 cars were built specifically for the film.
- #004
It is Gal Gadot's first film on the big screen.
- #005
Because Universal Pictures moved the premiere date from June 12 to April 3, composer Brian Tyler had only three days to record the orchestral score.
- #006
Ron Yuan suffers from vertigo. For the scene in which his character, David Park, hangs out of a window, the reactions on his face are genuine. In his commentary, director Justin Lin said he really wanted to shoot this scene because they were losing the natural light. He jokingly threatened to hang Ron himself if he did not do the shot right away.
- #007
Although her character is killed at the beginning of the film, Michelle Rodriguez was featured prominently in the advertising.
- #008
With $72.5 million, it had the biggest three-day opening for Universal Pictures, beating the $72.1 million of The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997).
- #009
Despite the cast reuniting, Michelle Rodriguez (Letty) shares no scenes with Paul Walker (Brian) or Jordana Brewster (Mia), because Letty is dead after the events of the opening scene.
- #010
The song heard while Dom, Brian and Mia are eating is called "Los Bandoleros" by Don Omar and Tego Calderon. They play Leo and Santos in this film and in Fast Five (2011). The song is also heard during the cooking at the end of Fast & Furious 6 (2013). Vin Diesel directed the short film Los Bandoleros (2009), which is set before the events of this film and stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Sung Kang, Don Omar and Tego Calderon.
- #011
The continuity of the Fast & Furious film series does not follow its release order. In 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Brian (Paul Walker) is still wanted by the police for his unauthorized entries in The Fast and the Furious (2001), but he eventually clears his record and is an FBI agent in Fast & Furious (2009). This film is a direct sequel to 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), and chronologically it is followed by the 5th (Fast Five (2011)), 6th (Fast & Furious 6 (2013)) and 3rd film (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)). The 7th (Furious 7 (2015)) runs concurrently with the 3rd, and it is followed by the 8th (The Fate of the Furious (2017)) and the 9th (F9: The Fast Saga (2021)).
- #012
The Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 driven by O'Conner was supplied by Kaizo Industries, which claimed it was legal for road use under "kit car" guidelines. A copy of the R34 was later believed to have been stolen in July 2009, but it was not this film car. The original "KAIZO" GT-R 34 was seized by government officials in 2009 and exported to GT-A Germany in 2012.
- #013
This figure surpassed The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) in its first weekend alone.
- #014
David Ayer (The Fast and the Furious (2001), Training Day (2001)) did this without being listed in the rewritten credits.
- #015
Michelle Rodriguez's screen time is limited because she was busy with Avatar (2009).
- #016
The F-BOMB Camaro used at the end of the final chase scene in the tunnel is a replica of David Frieberger's real '71 Camaro "F Bomb". David was the editor-in-chief of Hot Rod magazine for years. It was originally built by Tom Nelson at Nelsonracingengines.com.
- #017
With $72.5 million, it had the highest-grossing opening weekend for a car-themed film, beating the $60.1 million of Cars (2006).
- #018
When Dom (Vin Diesel) visits Letty's grave, the headstone reads "Leticia Ortiz". In Spain this was very amusing, because "Letizia Ortiz" (with a Z) was a journalist who became Princess of Spain after marrying Prince Felipe (son of the then King of Spain Juan Carlos de Borbón) on May 22, 2004, and later was crowned Queen Letizia of Spain and King Felipe VI of Spain on June 19, 2014.
- #019
When the racers drive through the tunnels, every actor and actress appears to be sweating, but in reality all the actors and actresses used a bottle of water to spray themselves and create the look; this was among the mistakes and behind-the-scenes features on the DVD.
- #020
Paul Walker's character Brian O'Conner used to be blond, but after Timeline (2003) Walker went in real life from naturally blond to dark-haired. The screenplay of this film offers no explanation for why Brian is now dark-haired. Paul Walker had been dark-haired since 2004.
- #021
During the prep montage, Toretto is seen installing a carburetor "hat" and a centrifugal supercharger on his '70 SS Chevelle.
- #022
In the opening scene (set a reasonable amount of time before the film's main events), Han says he is going back to Tokyo. Released eight years after the first film, the film has Mia and Brian say over lunch that five years have passed, placing the main events in 2006 rather than 2009. This fits Han's original timeline, with Tokyo Drift released in 2006. This was later revisited in subsequent films, which revealed that he went to Tokyo for the events of Tokyo Drift in 2015.
- #023
It was released in the same year as Final Destination (2009), the fourth film in another series, whose title was also nearly identical to that of the first film (Final Destination (2000)), with any number or subtitle dropped. Coincidentally, the second, third and fifth films of both series were also released in the same years.
- #024
Michelle Rodriguez (Letty) and Laz Alonso (Fenix) also appeared together in Avatar (2009) the same year.
- #025
This is the first Fast & Furious film to be released in theaters in April rather than June.
- #026
It was the 17th highest-grossing film of 2009.
- #027
Hrithik Roshan was offered a role in the film.
- #028
As of 2025, with a 29% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it is the worst-reviewed Fast & Furious film.
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