The first season of Netflix and Dreamworks’ Fast & Furious: Spy Racers contains multiple references to the movies that came before it. As evident by the launch of the animated series, the Fast & Furious franchise has grown well beyond its street racing roots. The movies now feature giant ensembles, even larger set pieces, and make huge amounts of money at the box office. Universal launched the first spinoff, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw this past summer, and the film grossed over $750 million worldwide.

Now, ahead of the debut of Fast & Furious 9 in May 2020, the franchise has expanded again to include Spy Racers. The animated series follows Tony Toretto (Tyler Posey), the younger cousin of Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), and his friends as they enter the world of espionage. They’re recruited to a secret organization after a recommendation by Dom to infiltrate a group called SH1FT3R, who have plans for world domination and revenge.

Aside from a small role by Dom, Spy Racers also includes several nods to the movies that came before. While a deep knowledge of the Fast & Furious franchise isn’t required to enjoy the series, there are multiple connections that are made that can increase the joy of watching for diehard fans. Whether you are a hardcore fan or new to the franchise though, here are all the connections to the movies Spy Racers includes.

Ms. Nowhere

The liaison assigned to Tony’s team is one of the clearest connections to the Fast & Furious movies that Spy Racers includes. Ms. Nowhere recruits them to her secret mission after being recommended by Dom. Although the movies have never shown Ms. Nowhere and Dom interact, recent entries have introduced Kurt Russell as Mr. Nobody. Dom’s familiarity with Ms. Nowhere and her codename being similar to Mr. Nobody’s is likely a sign that they are from the same still-unnamed organization. She even wears a similar flight suit as the Shaw brothers in The Fate of the Furious.

Ejector Seats

One of the joys of Spy Racers is the add-ons racers from SH1FT3R have included in their rides. The series showcases several different modifications, and one of them in Mitch’s car will be familiar to Fast & Furious fans. He has ejector seats installed in his vehicle, which were previously featured in 2 Fast 2 Furious. In that film, Roman Pierce (Tyrese Gibson) uses it to get rid of an unwanted passenger, who goes flying out the side of the car. Spy Racers never shows Mitch’s ejector seats in action though.

Arctic Races

The Fast & Furious franchise has recently become known for insane set pieces, and one of the prime examples of this is the race across the Arctic in The Fate of the Furious. However, Spy Racers mentions that cars racing across Arctic ice caps is far more common than audiences knew. At one point in the series, Shashi rattles off several locations he’s raced at and says he’s raced on ice before. Whether this came before Fate of the Furious’ ending or after is not known, but it appears racers in this franchise have grown accustomed to the icy conditions for some races.

Building Jumps

Among all of the set pieces that Fast & Furious has become known for, Dom’s multi-building jump in Furious 7 is quite possibly the most well-known. He drives from one building in Saudi Araba into an adjacent building and then drops down to a third tower before everything is said and done. This moment wasn’t just a great piece of marketing for Furious 7 but is also a feat that Tony is aware of. When he is stuck in a collapsing building in Fast & Furious: Spy Racers’ season finale, he decides that he needs to use his car to jump to the next building and says, “If Dom can do it, so can I.” However, Tony was not able to make the jump, so thankfully Dom was there to save him.

MORE: Fast & Furious Movie Timeline & Viewing Order

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