What happened behind the scenes of Fast X to get its director, Justin Lin, to jump ship, with filming having barely begun. In an investigation, The Hollywood Reporter tries to clarify the reasons for the departure of Justin Lin.
Why did Justin Lin slam the door on the set of Fast and Furious 10? A week after the announcement of his departure, the more precise reasons begin to be revealed. If it was about “different creative“, this track is confirmed, revealing very big tensions behind the scenes.
As reported The Hollywood Reporter, Justin Lin, who – in addition to directing – is the film’s co-screenwriter, would have been unhappy with the constant changes in the script. According to the article, it was in particular a question of changing the filming locations, which were to be held partly in Eastern Europe, due among other things to the war in Ukraine.
A “major disagreement” would indeed have taken place between Justin Lin and Vin Diesel. The latter would have made new proposals for the film, which would not have been accepted by Lin. Another screenwriter would also have been recruited in order to modify the scenario, and review the dialogues.
Lin would have slammed the door of this meeting, and therefore of the film. A confidential source reports that the former director of the film would have claimed that this film “did not deserve his sanity”. Diesel would be heavily involved in the script and would have veto power over action sequences.
The other question that arises, as indicated by The Hollywood Reporter, is that of the financing of the film. The budget would now exceed $300 million. An overrun that would be linked to changes in filming locations.
For the record, the director Justin Lin was in charge of Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift and episodes 4, 5, 6 and 9 of the saga, and left the filming of FastX last week when he had just started.
The latest news, the director, who co-wrote the film with Dan Mazeau, remains in production. If the separation was made amicably between the two parties, sources close to the filmmaker say that the latter decided to withdraw from the franchise due to creative differences.
Justin Lin immediately released an official statement: “With the support of Universal, I made the difficult decision to step down as director of FAST X, while remaining on the project as a producer. In ten years and five feature films, we have been able to film the best actors, the best stunts and the best car chases.
From a personal point of view, as a child of Asian immigrants, I am proud to have helped create the most diverse franchise in the history of cinema. I will forever be grateful to the amazing cast, crew, and studio for their support, and for welcoming me into the FAST family.”
Justin Lin’s ties to the Fast saga
Justin Lin, who was to direct the last two parts, was one of the architects of the Fast & Furious saga. He joined the series in its third installment and took Fast & Furious from simple action films to internationally acclaimed blockbusters.
While promoting Fast & Furious 9, Lin confessed to knowing how the adventure would end: “We’ve been talking about it for ten years. It’s a conversation we’ve had for a long time. I can therefore say ‘yes’, broadly. And especially because the 9 marks the beginning of a trilogy.”
Universal Pictures
Justin Lin and Vin Diesel on the set of Fast & Furious 5
A trilogy that the filmmaker wanted to direct but that he ultimately prefers to leave to another.
A French director called to the rescue
Recall that just a few days after this announcement, Justin Lin’s successor has already been recruited. As announced varietyit is Louis Leterrier who will have the heavy task of taking the wheel of the big machine that is Fast & Furious for the realization of Fast X. 2, Danny the Dog, The Incredible Hulk or Elusive.
The director is also in the news for having directed Loin du Périph, the sequel to On the other side of the Périph with Omar Sy and Laurent Lafitte, which will be released on May 6 on Netflix. It remains to be seen whether the agreement with Vin Diesel will be in good shape on the set of Fast X, which has just started.
The tenth film in the popular and lucrative saga is normally expected in theaters on May 24, 2023. The cast will include Vin Diesel, Jason Momoa, Brie Larson, Charlize Theron, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang and Daniela Melchior.