2 Fast 2 Furious is a 2003 American action film directed by John Singleton from a screenplay by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, based on a story by Brandt, Haas, and Gary Scott Thompson. It is the sequel to The Fast and the Furious (2001) and the second installment in the Fast & Furious franchise, and stars Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner, alongside Tyrese Gibson, Eva Mendes, Cole Hauser, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, and James Remar. In the film, O'Conner and Roman Pearce (Gibson) transport "dirty money" for shady Miami-based import-export dealer Carter Verone (Hauser), while secretly working with undercover agent Monica Fuentes (Mendes) to bring Verone down. A second Fast & Furious film was planned after the box office success of its predecessor in 2001, and was confirmed with the returns of Walker and producer Neal H. Moritz.