Fast X sets up a harrowing and epic conclusion to the franchise with an end to Dominic Toretto’s character arc.

Despite Dominic Toretto leaving the franchise, the Fast & Furious movies are unlikely to end due to their reliable success and Universal’s development of spinoffs and future movies.

Existing characters like Brian Toretto, Isabel Neves, Tess, Gisele, Jakob Toretto, Ramsey, and Little Nobody have the potential to replace Dom as the franchise’s new lead.

Fast X was the beginning of the end of the Fast & Furious series as it is currently known, but there are many characters who can carry the torch after Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) leaves the franchise. The 10th Fast & Furious movie was the first of the two-part finale of the long-running series, as it ended on a cliffhanger where Dom and his son are stranded at the bottom of a dam that’s rigged to blow. Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa) is the biggest threat that Dom and his crew have seen yet, and the Fast X ending sets up a harrowing and epic conclusion in Fast & Furious 11.

Regardless of what happens in Fast & Furious 11, it’s unlikely that the franchise will end for good. The Fast & Furious movies are one of Universal’s most reliable franchises, as the movies have grossed a total of $7.3 billion worldwide (via The Numbers), so a future Fast & Furious movie will probably quickly follow Fast & Furious 11. Universal has already developed and is developing spinoffs, as Hobbs & Shaw made $760 million worldwide in 2019, and a Hobbs solo Fast & Furious movie is on its way. However, the mainline franchise can still continue, and a number of existing characters can replace Dom as the franchise’s lead.

Brian Toretto is Dominic’s son, and despite being 8 years old in Fast X, he was heavily involved in the action. Brian worked with his Uncle Jakob (John Cena) to protect his father and even seemed a little too comfortable shooting enemies and blowing up vehicles. Given the franchise’s heavy family theme, Dom’s child taking over the franchise makes the most sense, and this is especially apt given that Brian is named after the original series lead. There would have to be a significant time jump in the franchise for Brian to be the new lead, but given how time travel could happen in Fast & Furious 11, it’s possible.

Isabel Neves

Isabel Neves (Daniela Melchior), a Brazilian street racer, was introduced as part of the Fast X cast of characters. She is only in one major scene, but from that single sequence, she shows so much promise of carrying the Fast & Furious franchise. While there’s a token street race in every Fast & Furious movie to satisfy the older fans, the future of the series could go back to its roots and become a crime drama with a street racing backdrop with Isabel as the lead. The character could become involved in undercover work, just like Brian, and it’d be more stripped-back and the most thrilling release in years.

Tess

Isabel Neves (Daniela Melchior), a Brazilian street racer, was introduced as part of the Fast X cast of characters. She is only in one major scene, but from that single sequence, she shows so much promise of carrying the Fast & Furious franchise. While there’s a token street race in every Fast & Furious movie to satisfy the older fans, the future of the series could go back to its roots and become a crime drama with a street racing backdrop with Isabel as the lead. The character could become involved in undercover work, just like Brian, and it’d be more stripped-back and the most thrilling release in years.

Tess (Brie Larson) didn’t have much screen time in Fast X, but the character is excitingly enigmatic, has tons of charisma, and is a badass action heroine. Tess is totally agile as she jumps on top of cars in stylish suits and carrying machine guns, and she’d be a joy to watch as the new franchise lead. Larson leading the future of the series is very likely, as she’s a bankable actor and a part of some of the highest-grossing movies of all time. Not only that, but Larson has an Oscar, and there’s a fun contrast of an Academy Award winner leading the Fast & Furious series.

Gisele

Before Fast X, Gisele (Gal Gadot) was the least likely character to take over the franchise, as she was last seen falling to her death in Fast & Furious 6. However, the Fast X cliffhanger ending sees Gisele emerging from a submarine with a smile on her face. This could be setting up the future of the franchise with Gisele replacing Dom. Gisele is a weapons expert and ex-Mossad agent, and her skills could lead to more fight sequences filled with hand-to-hand combat. Like Brie Larson, Gadot is a bankable actor who could carry the franchise, and that might mean more Han (Sung Kang) too, given his and Gisele’s romance.

Jakob Toretto

It’s no secret that Jakob Toretto died in Fast X, sacrificing himself for his brother and redeeming himself of his previous actions. However, nobody stays dead in the Fast & Furious franchise, as Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Han, and now Gisele have all returned from the dead. Han’s death was even retconned not once but twice. With that in mind, given that the character was a hit with audiences, it’s likely that Jakob will return too. As John Cena is making leaps and bounds in his acting skills with each consecutive movie, and he has such a commanding onscreen presence, Jakob becoming Dom’s successor makes a lot of sense.

Ramsey

Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) was introduced into the series in Furious 7, as Dom and Brian (Paul Walker) rescued the expert hacker from Jakande (Djimon Hounsou). While the character might be a long-time member of the group at this point, Ramsey is still relatively new compared to the rest of the crew, and she’s much younger too. Emmanuel is 34 years old, which is around the age Vin Diesel was while shooting The Fast and the Furious. Ramsey has also been learning new skills in each movie since Furious 7 — she only just learned how to drive in F9 — so her taking over from Dom is a strong possibility.

Little Nobody

Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood) has been an inconsistent part of the Fast & Furious franchise, as he appeared in Fate of the Furious, skipped F9, and then returned in Fast X. The character is a government law enforcement agent who worked for Mr. Nobody, and with a seemingly endless amount of vehicles and weapons at his disposal, the character has so much potential to get a bigger role in the Fast & Furious series. Given the actors’ ages and how they’re connected through The Agency, it’s easy to see Little Nobody, Tess, and Ramsey forming the new Fast & Furious team in the future.

Dante Reyes

Dante Reyes might be a villain in Fast X — and one of the franchise’s most sadistic bad guys at that — but based on Fast & Furious‘ history, the odds of him joining Dom’s team are high. Even Cipher, who was willing to kill Dom’s son and was the overarching series villain, became an ally in Fast X. Dante could similarly become one of the good guys. Given Momoa’s bankability and guaranteed audience, the character could replace Dom as the franchise lead. Dante was the best part of Fast X, as the character was edgy, exciting, and unpredictable, and that’s the very kind of protagonist Fast & Furious needs.