The Fast & Furious: Supercharged Ride Story Explained (& Is It Canon?)
What is the story behind the Fast & Furious: Supercharged ride and is it considered canon? The original movie was a modestly budgeted riff on Point Break, with surfing being replaced by street racing. The film was also a showcase for Vin Diesel, who soon departed sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious to make xXx instead. The series looked like it was coming to a natural conclusion with third entry The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift, which centered around a new cast of characters. Diesel made a small cameo at the end of the film, however, which got fans excited about more sequels.
Most of the original cast reunited for 2009's Fast & Furious, but the franchise was cemented by the success of Fast Five. This installment moved away from the street racing and introduced Dwayne Johnson's Agent Hobbs, and the series has become a blockbuster juggernaut. It even received a spinoff with 2019's Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, which paired Johnson's character with Jason Statham's antihero. The series will rev up again with 2020's F9, where Dom will face off with his evil brother Jakob (John Cena).
The Fast & Furious series has expanded to video games and cartoon series Fast & Furious Spy Racers, and in 2015 it became a ride in the form of Fast & Furious: Supercharged at Universal Studios Hollywood. The setup of the ride is straightforward, with the tour tram being ordered to a safe location by Hobbs, as mercenary Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) and his crew want a witness hiding out in the tram. This safe haven turns out to be one of Dom's garages which is loaded with franchise easter eggs, with Roman and Letty talking to guests as they enter.
The Fast & Furious: Supercharged ride than sees FBI Agent Novak breaking up a party held by Roman, which is when Dom, Letty, and Hobbs make appearances - via hologram - and address the tram guests. A flamethrower wielding Shaw then appears on the back of a truck, leading to an immersive 3D chase sequence with all sorts of chaotic action, including Dom holding onto a helicopter and Letty crashing Shaw's vehicle with a construction hook. The ride ends with the crew congratulating guests and welcoming them to the family.
The Universal Studios Florida version of Fast & Furious: Supercharged offers some tweaks, including appearances by Dom's sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) and Tej (Ludacris), though the basic story is the same. So is the ride's story canon? In a word, no. It's basically a mixtape of the most recognizable tropes from the franchise, but the presence of Owen Shaw rules out any real canon links; the villain was placed in a coma following Fast & Furious 6, which Tej states was the last time he was encountered. The events of Fast & Furious: Supercharged have never been mentioned in any form in the following sequels either, and given the overall mixed reaction to the ride itself, this could be for the best.