Raphael's response was milder than Neal's, but no less sharp.
"The Fast Saga is a whole. It was never one person's solo show. Whether it's Brian O'Conner or Dominic Toretto, they're both part of this family. No one should put themselves above the team."
When reporters pressed him on Vin Diesel's comments, Raphael smiled.
"I don't comment on other people's choices. I only look to the future."
He paused. "I'm going to make this series more vibrant, more full of potential. Just wait and see."
Vin Diesel's camp reacted fast.
The very next day, another statement dropped.
This time they turned the guns on Universal — "killing the donkey after unloading the mill," "ruthless capital," "erasing the creator's contributions" — one accusation after another.
The piece also hinted that the reason Universal was rushing the sequels was because the success of Fast 1 was entirely carried by Dominic.
Now they wanted to replicate that success but forgot who the real soul was.
The two sides went back and forth, making for quite the spectacle.
But the interesting part was the complete, eerie silence from the rest of the Fast 1 cast — Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, and the others.
No responses to interview requests.
No statements to the press.
It was like they had all gone radio silent.
Only Raphael knew why.
A week before the press conference, he had called each of them personally.
One simple sentence:
"Rest up, save your energy. For the fourth film, we'll bring everyone back."
That one line was enough.
In early 2000s Hollywood there were no trending topics, no social media, no 24-hour rolling entertainment news.
Public opinion spread slower than twenty years later, but it still spread far.
In the following days, the entertainment sections of major outlets lit up.
The Hollywood Reporter, page two: "Fast Saga Internal Feud Escalates — Vin Diesel vs. Universal, Who's Lying?"
Variety, page three: "Raphael Lee's Low-Key Response: I Only Look to the Future."
LA Times Entertainment: "Fast 1 Cast's Collective Silence — What's Behind It?"
Even the tabloid-loving New York Post gave it a small spot on page four: "Bald vs. Young Upstart? Fast Series Plays Real-Life Fast & Furious."
Raphael kept his routine: wake up, eat, spend time with Jessica.
Occasionally Ari would call, rambling about "the heat is rising," "more interview requests coming in," "your calm strategy is beautiful."
Raphael just wanted to laugh.
Calm strategy?
He simply refused to let that bald guy lead him around by the nose.
Sometimes Jessica would lean over the back of the sofa, watching him flip through the papers.
"You really aren't angry at all?"
Raphael looked up.
"Angry about what?"
"He's so arrogant…"
Raphael thought for a moment.
"He's telling the truth."
Jessica was stunned.
"Huh?"
"Dom really is the soul of Fast."
Raphael explained, "I'm just letting that soul rest for a few years. When he's rested enough and wants to come back, the door will still be open."
Jessica stared at him for a long time.
"You can really hold it in."
Raphael smiled.
"I'm not that nice. I just want control. Once 2 and 3 blow up at the box office, this series will be mine to run."
He leaned back on the sofa, gazing at the ocean outside the window.
"This franchise is only just beginning. The road ahead is still long."
---
Half a month later — January 25, 2002, Raphael's twentieth birthday arrived on schedule.
Jessica had wanted to throw him a big party and invite all their industry friends, but Raphael politely declined.
Reason: milestone birthdays like turning twenty should be spent with family.
So on the day, he brought Jessica to his mom's house. Madeline and Philip were already waiting.
The first meeting between "daughter-in-law" and "mother-in-law" was perfectly harmonious.
Westerners are practical about these things — as long as the relationship is civil, there's no need to force closeness.
They weren't going to be living together anyway.
For Raphael, finding time in his busy schedule to have dinner with family was already good enough.
After the birthday, the now twenty-year-old Raphael threw himself straight into work.
First up: script development for Fast & Furious 2 and 3.
Early that morning, Ari's call came in.
"Raphael, Neal's pushing. Script read-through today at 2 p.m., Universal headquarters."
Raphael, leaning against the headboard, glanced at the still-sleeping Jessica.
"Got it."
---
2 p.m. Universal headquarters, Conference Room 3.
The long table was packed.
Neal Moritz sat at the head, flanked by several writers and Universal production executives.
Raphael and Ari sat opposite them, coffee in front and a thick stack of pages on the table.
Neal smiled and opened.
"Raphael, the first draft is done. Take a look."
Raphael opened the script and read page by page.
His brow gradually furrowed.
The plot for the second film was almost identical to the original 2 Fast 2 Furious.
Brian gets fired for letting Dom go, drifts to Miami, gets strong-armed by the FBI into going undercover with Roman, eventually takes down Carter Verone and clears his name.
The third film was even worse — straight-up Tokyo Drift.
Send him to Tokyo to drift with a bunch of Japanese kids?
Zero continuity between 2 and 3!
Raphael closed the script and looked up.
"Neal, I'm not happy with this draft."
The atmosphere in the room shifted.
Neal's smile froze for a second.
"Where?"
Raphael pushed the script back.
"Second film — Miami undercover. The story's fine, but the scale is too small. Brian just gets forced by the FBI, the whole thing feels like a generic cop movie. It's completely disconnected from the street-racing vibe of the first film."
Neal opened his mouth but said nothing.
Raphael kept going.
"Third film — Tokyo Drift. This is an entirely separate story. The protagonist changes location and races with a bunch of Japanese students? What does it have to do with the Fast series? Besides a post-credits cameo from Dom, it's basically a spin-off! The most ridiculous part is… you really think he'll agree to that cameo?"
One of the writers couldn't hold back.
"The Tokyo Drift setting is meant to internationalize the series—"
"International is fine," Raphael cut in. "But you can't lose the core! What is the core of Fast? Family. Team. Street racing culture. Does Tokyo Drift have any of that?"
The room fell quiet for a few seconds.
Neal rubbed his temples.
"Then what kind of story do you want?"
Raphael didn't answer directly.
He stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and picked up a marker.
"My idea — use Fast 2 and 3 to create Brian O'Conner's origin story."
He wrote on the board: Police Academy, Undercover, Origin.
"Right now the audience only knows Brian as an ex-cop who got fired for letting Dom go. But how did he become a cop? Why can he drive like that? What did he experience before? All blank!"
Neal looked thoughtful at the board.
"You want to do an origin story?"
"Yes! Timeline goes back before Fast 1. Second film: Brian's starting point — he enters the police academy, from green rookie cadet to becoming a real cop. Third film: his first undercover assignment — sent to Miami, comes into contact with the real criminal underworld, sinks deeper into the darkness, and finally gets assigned to the mission in LA that changes his life."
He wrote the second line: Academy — Starting Point, Miami — Trial, LA — Finale.
"Second film: Brian just enters the academy, naïve, impulsive, but gifted. He faces brutal training, complicated classmate dynamics, and gets his first taste of the dark side of police work. This film makes the audience fall in love with the character and understand why he chose this path."
Neal nodded slightly.
"Third film: Brian's first undercover mission. He's sent to Miami to target a man named Carter Verone, but the deeper he digs, the bigger the force behind it — the Reyes family from South America…"
The room stayed quiet.
One writer murmured, "This setup… feels a bit like an undercover genre piece…"
Raphael glanced at him but didn't argue. "But I don't want a regular undercover story. I want the journey of a young man getting lost in darkness and finding his way back. At the end of the third film, Brian completes the Miami mission, catches the eye of his superiors, and gets assigned to his next undercover job in LA — target: a man named Dominic Toretto."
He paused.
"Then it's the opening scene of The Fast and the Furious 1."
Neal's eyes lit up.
"You mean make 2 and 3 prequels to 1, so when the audience watches 1 after these two, they'll have a completely different experience?"
"Exactly. When they know what Brian went through, when he walks into Dom's garage, his eyes, his hesitation, his final decision to let Dom go — all of it gains deeper layers."
He walked back to his seat and looked at Neal.
"Neal, if this series wants to last, the audience has to fall in love with the characters. The best way to make them fall in love is to let them know where those characters came from."
Neal was silent for a long time.
Then he spoke.
"This idea… is risky. Prequels usually don't hit as hard as the main story."
"But this is Brian's story."
Raphael's tone was rock-solid. "The audience already likes him in Fast 1. They'll want to see what came before — just like Star Wars released the original trilogy first, then the prequels, and still succeeded."
Neal rubbed his temples.
"Cost? Schedule? We're on a tight timeline—"
"Neal."
Raphael cut him off. "Let me ask you one question."
"What?"
"How many films do you think the Fast series can make?"
Neal was caught off guard.
"This… depends on box office. If it does well, we keep going."
Raphael pressed.
"If we keep going, Brian needs a complete character arc. The audience needs to see where he came from, where he's going, and what he experienced in between. Without that, he's just a tool who can drive fast. Anyone could play him."
The room went dead silent.
Neal stared at the whiteboard for a long time, then slowly nodded.
"Alright… let's try it your way."
He turned to the writers.
"Scrap the current drafts. We're doing Brian's origin story — two films, back-to-back, leading straight into Fast 1."
Raphael sat back down, a small, satisfied smile on his face.
The future of the franchise was now firmly in his hands.