Fast & Furious 9 is hitting US theaters in just over a month, and early reactions suggest it will be the wildest of them all, with critics calling it "the biggest and most ridiculous Fast & Furious yet" and praising its "fresh and innovative" action. From the footage we've seen, the stunts look spectacular and crazier than ever before - one ambitious stunt involving a Toyota 86 being pushed through a building by a magnet took eight months to prepare and a rocket-powered Pontiac Fiero will blast off into space.

As the first major summer blockbuster being released exclusively on the big screen, a lot is riding on 'Fast 9' as there are hopes it can save movie theaters that were forced to close during the pandemic.

The most recent films in the franchise made an obscene amount of money at the box office: 'Furious 7' and 'The Fate of the Furious' grossed over $1 billion, so executives are hoping that 'Fast 9' will also be a huge hit. We'll have to wait and see how it performs, but according to Giant Freakin Robot's sources, Vin Diesel is reportedly demanding a whopping $50 million to return to the franchise.

After 'Fast 9', Vin Diesel will star as Domonic Toretto in the final mainline film, which will be split into two parts. It's unclear if he's demanding more money for his starring role in 'Fast 10' and 'Fast 11' or to appear in one of the upcoming spin-off films such as 'Letty' starring Michelle Rodriguez.

As the lead actor and the head of the film's production company One Race Films, Vin Diesel clearly thinks his star power and influence on the franchise is worth the huge investment. However, having grossed $750 million, 'Hobbs & Shaw' with Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham has shown that the franchise doesn't need Diesel to be in the driving seat to generate big bucks at the box office.

'Fast 9' will explore Toretto's backstory, the death of his father in a racing accident, and his relationship with his brother Jakob played by John Cena, so we don't need a spin-off movie focusing on Toretto. It would make sense for Toretto to have a cameo role in 'Letty,' but a $50 million paycheck would never be paid for such a small role.