An animated series based on The Fast and The Furious films is being developed by Netflix and DreamWorks Animation Television, the streaming giant announced on Monday.
While the films are centred on the exploits of street racer Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew, the animated show will focus on his teenaged cousin Tony Toretto, who is “recruited by a government agency to infiltrate an elite racing league serving as a front for a nefarious crime organisation bent on world domination,” Netflix’s press release said.
Tim Hendrick and Bret Haaland are the show runners and executive producers. Diesel, Neal Moritz and Chris Morgan, the co-producers of the Fast and Furious films franchise, will also executive produce the show.
This is one of several children and family programmes Netflix will develop with DreamWorks Animation Television as they look to expand their five-year partnership. DreamWorks Animation was in August 2016 acquired by Comcast, which owns Universal Pictures, the distributors of the Fast and Furious franchise.
The eight-film Fast and Furious franchise has been the biggest money-spinner for Universal Pictures and the sixth-highest-grossing film series of all time, having earned more than $5 billion worldwide. A ninth movie, a spin-off titled Hobbs and Shaw, will be released in 2019.