How a screenwriter's idea changed the 'Fast and Furious' franchise from direct-to-DVD peril into a $5 billion franchise

• "Fast and Furious" screenwriter Chris Morgan talked to Business Insider about what it's like to write the scripts for the popular franchise.
• Morgan also gave some insight into how his idea for "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" saved the movie from being a straight-to-DVD release.
• Morgan explained what led to the "Fast" franchise finally having a spin-off movie with "Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw."
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

After two movies, the "Fast and Furious" franchise was already at a crossroads. Though there was a third movie in the works, stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker weren't returning, so Universal was ready to make the movie a direct-to-DVD release.

But thankfully for fans of the now-beloved franchise, screenwriter Chris Morgan had an idea.

Morgan, a fan of the two previous "Fast" movies, who had just one screenwriting credit to his name - the 2004 thriller "Cellular" - answered a call out for writers to do the third "Fast" movie. And it was instantly clear to everyone at Universal he had some big ideas.

"My pitch was bring back the crew," Morgan recalled to Business Insider. "Dominic Toretto heard that someone he loves got killed in Japan and now he had to learn a new style of racing - drifting - and gain the trust of the racers to figure out what happened to his friend."

What Morgan wasn't aware of was that Universal planned on only making this non-theatrical movie for $10 million, and the story would revolve around high-school-aged characters in Los Angeles. But instead of throwing Morgan out of the room, he found a powerful ally in Universal production head Jeffrey Kirschenbaum. Blown away by the footage of drift racing that Morgan showed during his pitch, the exec decided to beef up the budget, set the movie in Japan, and give it a theatrical release. 2006's "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" was born.

And for the cherry on top: After walking away from the franchise following the first movie, Vin Diesel showed up at the end of "Tokyo Drift" reprising the role of Dominic Toretto, hinting that he'd be back for the next movie.

"Taking a bigger risk to make it a bigger movie, and the ending showing Dom coming back, that's what caught the audience's interest," Morgan said.

It would lead to one of the most unlikely franchise rebirths in movie history, as the franchise has made over $5 billion for Universal. And since "Tokyo Drift," Morgan has become the gatekeeper of the franchise.

Morgan has written every movie since (he said the "Fast" franchise doesn't have a writer's room), and he said the movies have grown in scope (and popularity) because of a simple rule: "Best idea wins."

Read more: The director of "Hobbs and Shaw" explains his approach to action movies, which had produced 4 hits in a row

"I'll pitch everyone my story idea, then I'll take everyone's thoughts from that, go and write the script, and we'll get back together and if an idea makes something stronger or better we do it," Morgan said. "That's the way it's been."

And one idea that had been brewing for a while was when a spin-off from the main franchise would become a reality.

Morgan said one of the fun things about being the "Fast" screenwriter is that, during every movie, he'll make the rounds to all the trailers and talk to the talent about their characters and brainstorm their backstories and what they could be doing in the future. So Morgan has a wealth of ideas.

But things didn't get serious about a spin-off until 2017's "The Fate of the Furious."

Morgan said since "Fast Five," the talk was Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's Luke Hobbs character would be part of the first spin-off, and that was firmed once "Furious" came out and the reaction of the chemistry between Hobbs and Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw was so positive.

"That prison scene of Hobbs and Shaw hurling insults, seeing that energy we said if we are going to do it this is it," Morgan said.

It's led to "Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw" (currently in theaters), which Morgan didn't just write but also produced (screenwriter Drew Pearce came on as a screenwriter once preproduction began). The experience was a fun challenge for Morgan, as he said the one big difference in doing this script compared to the main "Fast" movies is that there's a more lighthearted feel.

It's a fun challenge for someone who sees himself as a fan.

"I think of myself sitting in that audience when I'm writing," Morgan said. "I'm thinking what do I want to see sitting there? What would surprise me? What would I think is cool? I love these characters. I was invited into this world, so I'm lucky to be a part of it."