"The Fast and the Furious," returning to theaters Friday, launched a franchise. Here is a breakdown of how each sequel or spinoff evolved the saga.

Paul Walker (L) and Vin Diesel (R), seen at the 2009 Japan premiere of the film "Fast & Furious" in Tokyo, Japan, starred in "The Fast and the Furious" saga. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI UPI From left, Michelle Rodriguez, Vin Diesel and Jordana Brewster attend the Cannes Film Festival 25th anniversary of "The Fast and the Furious" in May. File Photo by Rune Hellestad/UPI UPI Vin Diesel speaks as "Fate of the Furious" director F. Gary Gray's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2019. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI. UPI From left, Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster and Tyrese Gibson attend the 2017 MTV Movie and TV Awards in Los Angeles. File Photo by Christine Chew/UPI UPI Vin Diesel, seen with his daughter Hania Riley, signs his hand and footprint in 2015 at TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles. File Photo by /Jim Ruymen/UPI UPI Michelle Rodriguez, seen at the 2015 "Furious 7" premiere in Los Angeles, died and came back in the series. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI UPI From left, Sung Kang, Vin Diesel, director Justin Lin and Jordana Brewster attend the TCL Chinese Theater's 88th birthday in Los Angeles in 2015. File Photo by Christine Chew/UPI UPI

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- The Fast and the Furious, returning to theaters Friday, would not be a candidate for re-release were it not for the 25-year legacy it spawned. Its box office success warranted a sequel, but from the very first entry the franchise had to evolve.

There have been 10 movies since the 2001 original and the upcoming Fast Forever is expected to conclude the saga... until they decide on one more ride. Here is a breakdown of each Fast and the Furious movie after the original and how they moved the franchise forward.

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'2 Fast 2 Furious'

Vin Diesel turned down $30 million for the sequel, so they made the best of it. Paul Walker is charismatic enough to carry a movie as Brian O'Conner, and 2 Fast introduced Tyrese Gibson as his fun partner, Roman, and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as mechanic Tej. The franchise already started retconning itself in 2003. Brian's guilt over arresting Roman explains why he let Dom (Diesel) go at the end of the first movie.

'The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'

Though beloved now, this is the only movie that performed well below $100 million domestically. It almost ended the franchise. Then it became a prequel when the 4th, 5th and 6th movies were set before Han (Sung Kang) went to Tokyo. That timeline also retroactively makes Tokyo Drift more interesting by informing the experiences that made Han a mentor to racers.

'Fast & Furious'

They got the original cast back for 2009's sequel. Fans don't like this one now, but they did in 2009 when it opened to $70 million and grossed a then-series high. It is a generic story of Brian and Dom teaming up to get the drug dealer who killed Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) but don't underestimate the value of the original family.

This is where Dom, Brian and Mia (Jordana Brewster) work out the fallout of Brian infiltrating their family in the first movie. It also pays off recurring themes like the 10-second car. Looking back, this may seem mild after Films 5-7, but it's about the family drama. If you don't like the major set pieces driving through caves, they heard you and never did that again. The opening tanker heist scene is still a Top 3 Fast sequence.

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'Fast Five'

Now they brought the casts of all four movies together, and added Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) attempting to bring them to justice. This turned the franchise into an international espionage series with global, or at least national stakes, but there wouldn't be a Fast Five without the success of the previous film showing the original cast still had marquee value. This is where they become superheroes in cars. Oh, and at the end they reveal Letty is still alive, fixing the biggest mistake of Fast & Furious.

'Furious 6'

Erroneously called The Fast and the Furious 6 on posters, the title on screen is Furious 6. After Fast Five, this is actually the ideal balance of bombastic scale and the ensemble of Five with the superhero tone. Some mock Dom catching Letty after she's flung from a tank, but it's no less realistic than Dom walking away from his automobile accident at the end of the first movie.

'Furious 7'

Canonically titled Furious 7, it became a memorial to Walker when he died before completing production in 2013. This changed the plot around footage he shot and what they could reconstruct, but it pays off what these movies meant to people. And the parachuting cars, skyscraper jump and return to downtown Los Angeles still deliver superheroic vehicular action.

'The Fate of the Furious'

The eighth film reveals that Dom got Elena (Elsa Pataky) pregnant when he thought Letty was dead. So the new mission centers around rescuing Dom and his baby from new villain Cypher (Charlize Theron). Epic sequences include a chase with self-driving cars and racing a submarine on ice, but it opens with a classic street race in Cuba. Furious 7 villain Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) also redeems himself by aiding Dom in the rescue.

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'The Fast and the Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw'

Johnson's desire for a spinoff totally misunderstood the franchise he joined as a guest. These movies are about the ensemble, the family. Still, he and Statham are fun to watch in an adventure that's more about fighting, but has some vehicular mayhem too.

'F9'

This movie finally showed a flashback to the story referred to in every previous movie, in which Dom beat a man to death with a socket wrench after the racing death of his father. Flashbacks cast Vinnie Bennett as young Dom and also introduced the estranged brother Jakob (John Cena/Finn Cole) never before mentioned. In fact Mia refers to Dom as her only brother in Fast & Furious.

They also brought Han back, explaining he only faked his death in Tokyo Drift. Best of all, Roman and Tej (Ludacris) actually go to space in this one, thanks to the Tokyo Drift crew (Lucas Black, Shad Moss, Jason Tobin) now working in aeronautics.

'Fast X'

Still adding more family, now Fast Five villain Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida) had a son, Dante (Jason Momoa), who is back for revenge. Momoa is so much fun, he smooths over some of this entry's more egregious stretches in logic. Jakob is welcomed back in the family as uncle to Dom's son (Leo Abelo Perry). It ends in a cliffhanger. We're still waiting to see if Dom escapes from the exploding dam and if the rest of the team survived a plane crash!