The fast and the furious movies in order to watch

(Image: © Universal)

Want to watch the Fast and Furious movies in order? You've come to the right place! While you'd expect an action franchise like this to have a fairly straightforward timeline, there is some jumping about with some of the sequels set later, even though they were filmed earlier. Not to worry though, below we break down how to watch the series both chronologically and in order of release date. 

If you have the best TV, then it's likely you've already watched Fast 9 at home and are eagerly anticipating Fast 10, which is to be titled Fast X. Unfortunately, you've still got a bit of a wait for that one, with it not being slated for release until May 19 of 2023. Still, that gives you nine whole months to get caught up on the rest of the franchise (or re-watch it as the case may be for a lot of us!) and given we're nearing the supposed 'end' of the series, there's never been a better time for a marathon of these preposterous yet fun action movies. 

The Fast and Furious series introduced the world to Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O'Conner (the late Paul Walker) 21 years ago, and while we had zero clue that a humble and pretty straightforward street racing action film would go on to spawn a hugely successful adventure franchise, with each movie boasting more and more ludicrous and visually impressive stunts than the one before it. 

In fact, the question of how to watch the Fast and Furious movies in order has almost become as frequently asked as the question of how to watch the Marvel movies in order, although granted, it's not quite so complicated! Still, there are a vast cast of characters, a handful of spin-offs and countless memes about "family" doing the rounds on social media, so understanding the franchise and its, at times, weird timeline isn't always as easy as it could be.

With parts 10 and 11 on the horizon, now is the perfect time to watch the Fast and Furious movies in order. Whether you're kicking back in front of the big screen of you prefer to cozy up in bed with one of the best MacBooks and Macs or the best Windows laptop, we guide you through exactly how to watch this franchise, with options to view it both chronologically or by release order. Whatever you prefer, rest assured, you're in for a great ride!

Fast and Furious movies: Where can I stream the movies?

With the advent of Peacock, the streaming platform owned outright by Comcast, the parent company of Universal Pictures, you'd expect, in time, that to be the place where all the Fast and Furious movies will live. But at the moment, they're all a little scattered due to existing rights deals. We've done our best to work out where you can stream them right now. 

The Fast and the Furious

Peacock (US), Virgin TV Go (UK), BiNGE (AU)

The Turbo Charged Prelude (short film)

Not available to stream, but it's here on YouTube.

2 Fast 2 Furious 

Peacock (US), Virgin TV Go (UK), BiNGE (AU)

Los Bandoleros (short film)

Not available to stream, but it's here on Vimeo (opens in new tab)

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

HBO Max (US), Virgin TV Go (UK), BiNGE (AU)

Fast & Furious 

Peacock (US), Virgin TV Go (UK), BiNGE (AU)

Fast Five (US title)/Fast & Furious 5 (UK) 

Peacock (US), Virgin TV Go (UK), BiNGE (AU)

Fast & Furious 6 

HBO Max (US), Virgin TV Go (UK), BiNGE (AU)

Furious 7 (US)/Fast & Furious 7 (UK)

Peacock (US), Virgin TV Go (UK), BiNGE (AU)

The Fate of the Furious (US)/Fast & Furious 8 (UK) 

FuBo (US), Virgin TV Go (UK), BiNGE (AU)

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw 

Premium Rental (US), Virgin TV Go (UK), BiNGE (AU)

F9 (US)/Fast & Furious 9 (UK) 

HBO Max (US), NOW/Virgin TV Go (UK), BiNGE (AU)

Fast and Furious movies in chronological order

Here's how you watch the Fast and Furious movies in chronological order:

• The Fast and the Furious
• The Turbo Charged Prelude (short film)
• 2 Fast 2 Furious 
• Los Bandoleros (short film)
• Fast & Furious 
• Fast Five (US title)/Fast & Furious 5 (UK) 
• Fast & Furious 6 
• The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
• Furious 7 (US)/Fast & Furious 7 (UK)
• The Fate of the Furious (US)/Fast & Furious 8 (UK) 
• Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw 
• F9 (US)/Fast & Furious 9 (UK) 
• Fast X (May 19, 2023)
• Fast & Furious 11 (February 2024)

As if the Fast and the Furious naming/numbering convention wasn’t complicated enough, the order the films were released doesn’t correspond exactly with on-screen continuity. That means that to watch the Fast and Furious movies in order from a chronological perspective is weirdly complex. 

The rogue element shaking everything up is Tokyo Drift. When Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto unexpectedly showed up at the end of that movie – returning to the franchise after sitting out 2 Fast 2 Furious – everybody assumed that fourth instalment Fast & Furious would pick up where that left off. But there was a glaring continuity issue – Han Seoul-Oh (Sung Kang), who’d been killed in Tokyo Drift, was alive and well in Fast & Furious. 

As it turns out, Han actually makes his fateful trip to Tokyo at the end of Fast & Furious 6. We subsequently learn that British rogue agent Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham, who joined the series in Fast & Furious 6) was driving the car that killed Han, while the scene where Toretto turns up in Tokyo actually takes place during Furious 7/Fast & Furious 7. Got all that?

Fast & Furious 9 picks up after The Fate of the Furious/Fast & Furious 8, with Charlize Theron’s Cipher back in action, along with John Cena starring as Dominic Toretto's brother (!) and rival. The movie finds a satisfactory explanation for what happened to Han (just about) – but we'll let you discover that for yourself if you haven't seen it yet. 

Fast X and 11 will operate as a two-part finale for the series. Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs won't be part of the parts 10 and 11, but Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw seems like a real possibility.

"Fast 9 is designed to be the prequel to the finale and establish a narrative that could stand over multiple films,” star/producer Vin Diesel told Total Film (opens in new tab) magazine. “F9 is an amazing film, it's going to be a thrill for people to see. But it needed to lay the groundwork for the finale, which will have to be broken into two films because there are so many elements to wrap up.”

There’s also a pair of official short films that expand the continuity. The Turbo Charged Prelude sets the scene for 2 Fast 2 Furious, explaining how Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner ends up in Miami. Los Bandoleros (written and directed by Vin Diesel), meanwhile, establishes key plot points for fourth movie Fast & Furious. 

And while we’ve not included it in the chronological order list above, real Fast and Furious completists may want to check out crime drama Better Luck Tomorrow – while not technically a Fast and Furious movie, regular F&F director Justin Lin and star Sung Kang have both said the Han in Better Luck Tomorrow is the same character who later turns up in Tokyo Drift. 

Meanwhile, kid-friendly spin-off Fast & Furious: Spy Racers has four seasons on Netflix. It’s about Dom Toretto’s younger cousin, Tony, but the tone is so different to the movies that we're unsure about calling it canon, so we've left it out of the chronology above. 

Fast and Furious movies in release date order

• The Fast and the Furious (2001)
• 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
• The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
• Fast & Furious (2009)
• Fast Five (US title)/Fast & Furious 5 (UK) (2011)
• Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
• Furious 7 (US)/Fast & Furious 7 (UK) (2015)
• The Fate of the Furious (US)/Fast & Furious 8 (UK) (2017)
• Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
• F9 (US)/Fast & Furious 9 (UK) (2021)
• Fast & Furious X (May 19, 2023)
• Fast & Furious 11 (TBC)

It should be easy to work out how to watch the Fast and Furious movies in order by release date – unfortunately, the naming conventions of this series are muddled, and the titles may be different depending on where you're reading this. 

It was all so simple in the early days, when the original The Fast and the Furious was followed by the pun-driven 2 Fast 2 Furious. Japan-set The Fast and the Furious 3 was subtitled Tokyo Drift, but things got seriously weird for the franchise’s fourth instalment, which was simply called Fast & Furious. No way anyone could get confused by that – though on the plus side, at least it wasn’t called Fast & Four-ious. 

From there, American viewers were treated to a moveable feast of titling, with Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7, and (bizarrely) The Fate of the Furious. The ninth instalment embraced brevity with a simple F9.

Brits, meanwhile, got a rather more consistent Fast & Furious 5, Fast & Furious 6, Fast & Furious 7, Fast & Furious 8 and Fast & Furious 9.

Fast X and 11 are definitely happening, as discussed above, but don’t be surprised if those names are slightly different when the films are released in the US.

The Fast and the Furious movies, ranked

Leaving aside a rare exception like Mission: Impossible, long-running franchises don’t generally get better as they go on. Still, if you trust the Fast and Furious ranking based on IMDb user scores (opens in new tab), it took until Fast Five for the series to hit its stride – and make a successful transition from car racing dramas to all-action espionage movies.

Indeed, Fast Five was the start of a three-movie golden run for the saga, before it dropped off slightly with The Fate of the Furious. The first sequel, 2 Fast 2 Furious, remained the franchise low-point for a long time, but now F9 has succeeded it as the least-liked by IMDb's users, clocking in at a miserable 5.2/10. Perhaps expectations were too high, after such a long delay?

• Fast Five/Fast & Furious 5 – 7.3
• Furious 7/Fast & Furious 7 – 7.1
• Fast & Furious 6 – 7.0
• The Fast and the Furious – 6.8
• The Fate of the Furious/Fast & Furious 8 – 6.6
• Fast & Furious – 6.6
• Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw – 6.4
• The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift – 6.0
• 2 Fast 2 Furious – 5.9
• F9 – 5.2

Richard is a freelance journalist specialising in movies and TV, primarily of the sci-fi and fantasy variety. An early encounter with a certain galaxy far, far away started a lifelong love affair with outer space, and these days Richard's happiest geeking out about Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel and other long-running pop culture franchises. In a previous life he was editor of legendary sci-fi magazine SFX, where he got to interview many of the biggest names in the business – though he'll always have a soft spot for Jeff Goldblum who (somewhat bizarrely) thought Richard's name was Winter.