How Do You Watch the Fast and Furious Movies in Order?

By ReelVerse Editorial TeamPublished 6 min read

Abstract cinematic art of generic car silhouettes racing along a night highway with gold and magenta light trails beneath a curling film strip and a city skyline

Quick Answer

There are 11 Fast and Furious movies: 10 main films from The Fast and the Furious (2001) to Fast X (2023), plus the spin-off Hobbs & Shaw (2019). Release order and story order match except for one film: Tokyo Drift, released third, takes place after Fast & Furious 6. Watch it sixth for story order.

On this page
  1. What order should you watch the Fast and Furious movies in?
  2. What are the Fast and Furious movies in release order?
  3. What are the Fast and Furious movies in story order?
  4. Why does Tokyo Drift come after Fast and Furious 6?
  5. How did the Fast and Furious series change over time?
  6. What are the key facts for each Fast and Furious movie?
  7. Which Fast and Furious movie should you start with?
  8. Do you need to watch Hobbs and Shaw?
  9. Is there another Fast and Furious movie coming?
  10. Frequently Asked Questions
  11. Our Take
  12. Sources

Key Takeaways

  • There are 11 films: 10 main entries plus the Hobbs & Shaw spin-off.
  • The only difference between release and story order is Tokyo Drift, which moves from third to sixth.
  • Hobbs & Shaw is the one film you can skip without losing the main story.
  • Wikidata lists the next main film, Fast Forever, for March 2028; treat that date as tentative.

What order should you watch the Fast and Furious movies in?

There are 11 Fast & Furious films so far: 10 main films and one spin-off, Hobbs & Shaw. You can watch them in release order or in story order, and the two lists differ in only one way. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift came out third, but its story takes place after Fast & Furious 6. Only Tokyo Drift is moved; the three films that follow it in release order (Fast & Furious, Fast Five, and Fast & Furious 6) each move up one place to fill the gap, and the other seven films keep their positions.

For a first viewing, we suggest release order. The series was not planned as a single saga from the start, and watching it the way audiences did shows how a street-racing movie grew into a globe-trotting action franchise. For a rewatch, story order makes the middle of the series flow better.

Release dates and runtimes below come from Wikidata [1].

Which Fast and Furious watch order should you choose? Flowchart: first-time viewers can use release order, rewatchers can use story order with Tokyo Drift after the sixth film, and viewers short on time can skip the Hobbs and Shaw spin-off. How do you want to watch the Fast Saga? First time Release order. Tokyo Drift stays third. Rewatching Story order. Tokyo Drift goes after Fast & Furious 6. Short on time Hobbs & Shaw is the one spin-off to skip. Story order: watch Tokyo Drift right after Fast & Furious 6.
Pick an order based on how you want to watch.

What are the Fast and Furious movies in release order?

  1. The Fast and the Furious (2001)
  2. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
  3. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
  4. Fast & Furious (2009)
  5. Fast Five (2011)
  6. Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
  7. Furious 7 (2015)
  8. The Fate of the Furious (2017)
  9. Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
  10. F9 (2021)
  11. Fast X (2023)

Watch out for the similar names. The Fast and the Furious is the 2001 original, while Fast & Furious is the fourth film, from 2009. In the UK, several later films were released with numbers in their titles, such as Fast & Furious 5 for Fast Five [3].

What are the Fast and Furious movies in story order?

This chronological order matches the lists published by TheWrap and TechRadar [2] [3]:

  1. The Fast and the Furious (2001)
  2. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
  3. Fast & Furious (2009)
  4. Fast Five (2011)
  5. Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
  6. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
  7. Furious 7 (2015)
  8. The Fate of the Furious (2017)
  9. Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
  10. F9 (2021)
  11. Fast X (2023)
Fast and Furious films in release order compared with story order Slope chart of 11 films. Tokyo Drift, released third, moves to sixth in story order, so Fast and Furious (2009), Fast Five, and Fast and Furious 6 each move up one place. All other films keep their position. Release order vs. story order Release Story 1. The Fast and the Furious 2. 2 Fast 2 Furious 3. Tokyo Drift 4. Fast & Furious 5. Fast Five 6. Fast & Furious 6 7. Furious 7 8. The Fate of the Furious 9. Hobbs & Shaw 10. F9 11. Fast X 1. The Fast and the Furious 2. 2 Fast 2 Furious 3. Fast & Furious 4. Fast Five 5. Fast & Furious 6 6. Tokyo Drift 7. Furious 7 8. The Fate of the Furious 9. Hobbs & Shaw 10. F9 11. Fast X
Only Tokyo Drift changes place; three films shift up one spot to make room.

Why does Tokyo Drift come after Fast and Furious 6?

Tokyo Drift was made as a mostly separate story: a new lead character, a new city, and a new style of racing. Later films then went back and built a bridge to it. Mild spoiler warning: we will not explain the details, but the end of Fast & Furious 6 and the start of Furious 7 connect directly to events in Tokyo Drift.

That is why story-order viewers move it to sixth place. If you watch in release order instead, nothing breaks; you simply meet a few characters before the films that explain them. For the smoothest story-order run, watch Tokyo Drift right after Fast & Furious 6 and go straight on to Furious 7, so the bridge between the three films stays fresh.

The franchise also has two short films that fill gaps between the early movies [2]:

  • Turbo Charged Prelude (2003), which bridges the first film and 2 Fast 2 Furious.
  • Los Bandoleros (2009), a roughly 20-minute short directed by Vin Diesel that sets up Fast & Furious (2009).

Neither is required, but both are short and fit neatly before the film they introduce.

How did the Fast and Furious series change over time?

The first three films are compact street-racing stories. The first pairs undercover cop Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) with street racer Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel); 2 Fast 2 Furious follows Brian without Dom, who sat out that film [3]; and Tokyo Drift introduces a new lead in a new city. Each runs under two hours.

Fast & Furious (2009) brought the original leads back together, and Fast Five (2011) turned the series into a heist franchise and introduced Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs. From Fast Five onward, every film runs more than two hours, as the stories moved from local races to international missions.

Fast and Furious runtimes by release Line chart of runtimes across the 11 films in release order, rising from 106 minutes for the 2001 original to 141 minutes for Fast X, as listed in Wikidata. Runtime by release order (minutes) 2 hours 90 110 130 150 106 141 No. 1 (2001) No. 11 (2023) Magenta dot: Hobbs & Shaw spin-off. Source: Wikidata.
Runtimes as listed in Wikidata. Every film from Fast Five on runs over two hours.

Justin Lin is the series' most frequent director. He directed Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious, Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, and F9 [1]. James Wan directed Furious 7, F. Gary Gray directed The Fate of the Furious, and Louis Leterrier directed Fast X.

What are the key facts for each Fast and Furious movie?

This table puts both orders side by side with each film's director and runtime, as listed in Wikidata [1]. Runtimes can differ by a few minutes between versions.

Release no.Story no.FilmYearDirectorRuntime (min)
11The Fast and the Furious2001Rob Cohen106
222 Fast 2 Furious2003John Singleton107
36The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift2006Justin Lin104
43Fast & Furious2009Justin Lin102
54Fast Five2011Justin Lin131
65Fast & Furious 62013Justin Lin130
77Furious 72015James Wan137
88The Fate of the Furious2017F. Gary Gray136
99Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw2019David Leitch137
1010F92021Justin Lin143
1111Fast X2023Louis Leterrier141

Add up the runtimes and the whole series runs about 23 hours. That is roughly one long weekend of viewing, or a film a week for under three months.

Which Fast and Furious movie should you start with?

Start with The Fast and the Furious (2001) if you plan to watch the whole series. It is short, it sets up the Dom and Brian relationship that the later films keep returning to, and nothing in it depends on any other film.

If you only want to sample the series as it is today, Fast Five (2011) is a reasonable entry point. It works as a stand-alone heist film, and it introduces the larger crew and the bigger action scale that the later films keep. You will miss some backstory, but the film explains enough to follow along.

If heist-crew action is what you enjoy, the Mission: Impossible watch order is a natural next series, and the John Wick watch order is the pick if you want something leaner and more focused on a single character.

Do you need to watch Hobbs and Shaw?

No. Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) is a spin-off starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. It is set after The Fate of the Furious and focuses on its two leads rather than Dom's crew. It is the one film you can skip without losing the main story.

If you enjoyed the banter between Hobbs and Shaw in the main films, it is a fun side trip. If you only want the Toretto storyline, go straight from The Fate of the Furious to F9. And if you like franchises built on big-budget action set pieces, the Transformers watch order is another long series to work through.

Is there another Fast and Furious movie coming?

Fast X (2023) is the most recent film, and it ends on a cliffhanger, so another main film is planned. Wikidata lists the next one as Fast Forever, a film project with a March 2028 date [4]. Treat that date as tentative: release schedules for big franchises often move, and we will update this guide when a firm date is confirmed.

Until then, there is plenty of time to catch up on the 11 films already out.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Fast and Furious movies are there?

There are 11: ten main films from 2001 to 2023 and the 2019 spin-off Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. Two short films, Turbo Charged Prelude and Los Bandoleros, are optional extras.

Where does Tokyo Drift go in the timeline?

After Fast & Furious 6 and before Furious 7. It was released third, in 2006, but its story takes place later.

Is Fast & Furious (2009) the same as The Fast and the Furious?

No. The Fast and the Furious is the 2001 original. Fast & Furious is the fourth film, released in 2009.

Do you have to watch Hobbs & Shaw before F9?

No. It is a spin-off set after The Fate of the Furious and centered on Hobbs and Shaw rather than Dom's crew, so you can skip it and go straight to F9.

Our Take

We think release order is the better choice for a first run, because the series was never planned as one story and part of the fun is watching it reinvent itself. Story order is the smarter rewatch, mainly because it makes the run from Fast & Furious 6 through Tokyo Drift into Furious 7 feel continuous. In our opinion Fast Five is the essential entry: it is where the series found the heist-crew formula that every later film builds on. Hobbs & Shaw is optional. This is editorial opinion, not a ranking based on scores.

Sources

  1. Wikidata film records (release dates, runtimes, directors). Wikimedia Foundation.
  2. How to Watch the Fast and Furious Movies in Order. TheWrap.
  3. How to watch the Fast and Furious movies in order (chronological and release date). TechRadar.
  4. Fast Forever (Q118720041). Wikidata.

Release dates, runtimes and ratings come from Wikidata and official sources and can differ by country or edition. We do not track which service is streaming a film right now, because that changes often.Spotted an error? Tell us.