Vin Diesel has been the face of the Fast & Furious franchise since it first graced our screens in 2009, and no one is more passionate about the legacy of the films than the 58-year-old. The star took to Instagram on Tuesday to reminisce on an aspect of Fast & Furious history that many casual viewers were unaware of, and that avid fans of the franchise look back on fondly.
That aspect is the lesser-known short film, Los Bandoleros, which was written and directed by Vin himself and released just after Fast & Furious dropped in June 2001.
The film serves as a prequel to Fast & Furious, and sees Vin’s character, Dominic Toretto, team up with familiar faces to hijack a fuel tanker in the Dominican Republic.
Los Bandoleros also stars Michelle Rodriguez, Sung Kang, Tego Calderón and Don Omar, and was so much of a passion project for Vin that he directed it entirely for free.
“With the finale approaching, every day is spent reflecting. Not out of sentimentality, but out of responsibility,” he began in his Instagram caption, alongside a throwback photo of himself with Charlize Theron on set.
“I directed Los Bandoleros…for free. Out of eight directors who worked on this franchise, only me. My father always said never do anything for free,” he continued.
© Instagram“But the truth is, I would have paid them. Because they were giving me something no check could buy. The rhythm of the Caribbean. Don Omar and Tego Calderón, cultural mavericks who deserved to be on the biggest screen. Dom and Han’s backstory. And the chance to celebrate on film what Dom and Letty truly represented. The longest-running love story in cinema.”
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He added that the short film led him back to Cuba many years later, when he was shooting The Fate of the Furious with Charlize.
Aside from the already star-studded cast of Los Bandoleros, Vin revealed in December 2025 that he had hoped to bring none other than soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo into the Fast & Furious family by giving him a role in the short film.
© Getty Images“Everyone asked, would he be in the Fast mythology…I gotta tell you, he is a real one. We wrote a role for him in Los Bandoleros…” he wrote in the caption, alongside a photo with the Portuguese athlete.
© InstagramThe next and final instalment in the beloved franchise will be Fast Forever, the 11th film that is set for release in 2028. The most recent project, Fast X, debuted in 2023, and the subsequent film was hit with delays due to budget cuts from Universal Studios, as well as creative differences.
“No one said the road would be easy…but it’s ours,” Vin shared in an Instagram post in January. “One that has defined us and become our legacy…And a legacy…lasts forever. March 17th 2028! FAST FOREVER.”
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