source: reuters

The Cannes Film Festival revved up the glamour on Wednesday night with a buzzy red carpet for the midnight screening of ​the original “The Fast and the Furious” with star Vin Diesel.

Diesel, wearing ‌a black jacket with a racecar design “Fast Forever” – the next sequel in the series set for 2028 – in sequins on the back, went up and down the line ​of shouting fans who had gathered for hours at the ​carpet to pose for selfies.

He was joined on the carpet by ⁠Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez, who shot to fame with the ​2001 film about street racing that launched a franchise for Universal Pictures and ​spawned nine sequels and a spin-off, “Hobbs & Shaw.”

To date, the franchise has made over $7 billion at the global box office.

Their co-star Paul Walker, who died in a car crash ​in Southern California in 2013, was represented by his only daughter, Meadow, ​who had a cameo role in “Fast X.”

Ahead of the screening in Cannes’ luxurious Grand ‌Theatre ⁠Lumiere, Diesel told the audience about how festival director Thierry Fremaux had praised the film.

“To come with a film that you, the head of the most prestigious film festival in the world, where every artist in the ​world wants to ​be recognised and ⁠honoured, you, are calling the film that we did 25 years ago a classic,” he said.

“How profound is that?” ​he added.

“Fast Forever” will hit cinemas in March 2028, ​with the ⁠original cast, as well as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who joined the franchise from “Fast Five,” and Jason Statham, set to join.

In addition, Diesel announced on Monday that ⁠four ​original television series based on the film franchise ​are in development. An NBCUniversal press release distributed later in the day listed only one “Fast & Furious” ​show in development.