How to watch the Fast and Furious movies in order - full timeline

Since The Fast and the Furious first pulled into cinemas in 2001, the 10 instalments of the movie saga have paved a winding and often confusing timeline which weaves together The Fate of the Furious, Fast and Furious 9 and the furiously confusing Tokyo Drift into one story.

But which is the correct order to feast on the four-wheeled franchise featuring the likes of Paul Walker, Jason Statham and Charlize Theron? Well, not the order of release.

The right movie order is 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 3, 7, 8, and, then Hobbs and Shaw. On top of that, there are also two official Fast and Furious shorts, which fall between the 2nd and 4th movies. Don't forget Better Luck Tomorrow, a sort of prequel for Han.

Of course, there's more to it than that. Consider the below a sat-nav to your Fast and Furious binge.

How to watch the Fast and Furious movies: release order

Here are all instalments of the Fast franchise in order of release so we get it out of the way:

• The Fast and the Furious (2001)
• 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
• The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
• Fast & Furious (2009)
• Fast Five (2011)
• Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
• Furious 7 (2015)
• The Fate of the Furious (2017)
• Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
• F9 (2021)

If you’re new to the Fast and Furious, sticking to the simplest route may be the best. After all, most of the movies follow a chronological order, with only really the third instalment in the franchise, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), causing some confusing pile-ups in the timeline (more on that below).

The first episode in the saga, The Fast and the Furious (2001), follows undercover cop Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker), who integrates himself into a heist crew run by Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel).

Later in the series, viewers are introduced to the likes of the effortlessly cool Han Lue (Sung Kang), bounty hunter Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), weapons expert Gisele Yashar (Gal Galdot) and ex-military mercenary Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham).

How to watch the Fast and Furious movies: chronological order

• The Fast and the Furious
• 2 Fast 2 Furious
• Fast & Furious
• Fast Five
• Fast & Furious 6
• The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
• Furious 7
• The Fate of the Furious
• Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
• F9 (released in cinemas 2021)

Although most of the Fast films follow on from each other, there is one standout exception: you guessed it, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

Although it was the third Fast film to be released in cinemas, Tokyo Drift is actually set between Fast & Furious 6 and Furious 7. Swerving away from the story of Brian and Dom, the film follows a completely new set of characters led by Sean Boswell (Lucas Black), a student forced to move to Japan to avoid jail time.

Tokyo Drift also marks the first appearance of Han Lue, a fan favourite who (SPOILER ALERT) appeared to be killed in a chase near the end of the film.

Fortunately, the character wasn’t left dead for long, with Universal deciding Han was so popular he would be resurrected with a clever workaround: all subsequent Fast films would be set before Toyko Drift. This meant Han was able to return alive and well in Fast & Furious, the next film in the franchise.

Fast and Furious timeline

Just to make things even more complicated, the Fast and Furious franchise also features several high-speed prequels, sequels and midquels. Most of these shorts were created for DVD releases of the original movies, shining light on unknown areas of the high-speed saga’s timeline.

Include all of these mini-movies and the Fast and Furious timeline looks like this:

1) The Fast and the Furious

2) Turbo-Charged Prelude

First released on the DVD of 2 Fast 2 Furious (the next film on this list), this short film shows exactly how Brian (Paul Walker) went from being an LAPD cop to criminal. The reason is the one you’d expect: after assisting Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) evade law enforcement, Brian himself becomes a wanted man.

3) 2 Fast 2 Furious

4) Los Bandoleros

This short film focuses on Dom, and was served up to fans via a DVD bonus feature. No, it doesn’t explain how Brian became a fully-fledged FBI agent by the next film, but does introduce audiences to Han (Sung Kang), Rico (Don Omar) and Tego (Tego Calderon).

5) Fast & Furious

6) Fast Five

7) Fast & Furious 6

8) The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

9) Furious 7

10) The Fate of the Furious

11) Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

12) F9 (released in cinemas 2021)

Where to watch the Fast and Furious movies

Most of the Fast and Furious franchise can be viewed on streaming service NOW with a cinema pass (£11.99 a month).

Fast films available on the service are:

• The Fast and the Furious (2001)
• 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
• The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
• Fast & Furious (2009)
• Fast Five (2011)
• Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
• The Fate of the Furious (2017)

Unfortunately, Hobbs and Shaw and Furious 7 are not currently available to watch on NOW TV.

However, Furious 7 can be viewed on Netflix. Hobbs and Shaw is available to watch to Sky customers via Sky Go. If you’re not a Sky customer, you can purchase Hobbs and Shaw on Amazon.

If you’re looking for something to watch on TV tonight or what to watch now then check out our TV guide.