EXCLUSIVE: We’re hearing that Hollywood blockbusters could have a presence on the Croisette in the end, specifically with a celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Fast & Furious franchise which first hit theaters on June 22, 2001.

Universal is completely tight-lipped about the celebration, and Cannes is being quiet. We hear there will be an assemblage of talent, but it’s not 100% as to exactly who at this point in time. Vin Diesel has been quite vocal on social about championing the eleventh movie, which is still in development. The scale of the event remains to be seen but it would be a surprise if he wasn’t there. Michelle Rodriguez is no stranger to Cannes; she flew in for AmFar last year as one of the distinguished guests at the Hotel du Cap.

Also no word if a string of nitrous oxide fuelled sports cars will smoke up the Croisette. When Tom Cruise received his honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes premiere of Top Gun: Maverick, the festival literally pulled out the fighter jets overhead.

Fest chief Thierry Frémaux loves to sprinkle in some Hollywood bling at the event, but this year, his 25th at the helm, he was unable to secure a major studio launch. To mark the 25th anniversary of the Fast franchise, there has so far been a book about the movies and a car exhibition in Los Angeles. Sounds to us like there will also be something on the Riviera.

On the surface, Cannes and the Fast franchise would seem odd bedfellows, but there’s actually connective tissue here. In 2021, F9, the ninth installment in the high-octane series, revved its engines at the festival. Universal’s indie label Focus have debuted a number of movies on the Croisette, and two years ago the studio’s chair and chief content officer Donna Langley was at the event to receive Kering’s Women In Motion Award.

Fast and the Furious initially began as a movie about Los Angeles street racers who are involved in heists. As the movies went on, the protags evolved into global crime fighting heroes. Pic’s franchise star Paul Walker died in a single-vehicle collision on Nov. 30, 2013, as a passenger in a speeding Porsche Carrera GT in Santa Clarita, CA. The final Fast & Furious film he was featured in, F7, remains the franchise’s highest grossing with $1.5 billion at the global box office.

In total through 11 movies, the Fast & Furious franchise has racked up $7.47 billion at the global box office, a cinematic cornerstone for Universal.

Also getting a 20th anniversary nod this year at the fest is Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth which will play the Cannes Classics section with a screening on Tuesday, May 12 at 2:30 PM in the Debussy Theater, with the Oscar winning filmmaker in attendance. The pic received one of the longest standing ovations ever at the festival when it premiered and ultimately won three Oscars.