Fast X‘s original director, Justin Lin, reflects on his surprise departure from the movie. Lin, who had directed five installments of the Fast & Furious franchise, including 2021’s F9: The Fast Saga, was an obvious choice to helm the 10th movie, which officially started production in the spring of 2022. Only a week or so into filming, however, it was announced Lin had quit, with Louis Leterrier eventually brought on to replace him.
Now, a few months shy of the two-year anniversary of Lin’s Fast X exit, the director now reflects on the decision during a recent interview with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.
While not revealing any details about his departure and why he made the choice that he did, the filmmaker makes clear that there’s no bad blood on his part, which echoes star’s Vin Diesel’s own comments about the matter. Check out Lin’s full comment below:
“I look back now, it’s like a year and a half, there’s nothing but love for the cast. Everyone jokes about family, family family, that’s how I feel. This is a crazy business, and to be able to go through 15 to 18 years with a group of people and to be able to just grow together, it’s very special.
“The studio has been nothing but trusting. It really just means everything to me. Whether I like it or not, I’m going to be linked to this franchise. Even when I was away between 6 and 9, I’m always rooting for it. There’s nothing but positivity.
“Whatever drama… I’m just kind of bummed it had to get out in the public. I’d rather have the characters speak for the franchise. Whatever happened, it shouldn’t be important. I was there, whatever they needed, whatever Louis [Leterrier] or anybody…I just want to be supportive. I think that’s the spirit of that situation and overall, that’s important to me.”
Fast X’s Behind-The-Scenes Drama Explained
While the Fast & Furious franchise is no stranger to behind-the-scenes drama, with Diesel and Dwayne Johnson’s feud memorably dominating headlines, this drama hasn’t typically involved directors. It came as a surprise, then, when Lin, the director responsible for more Fast & Furious movies than anybody else, left after production on Fast X had already started.
The shocking nature of Lin’s departure certainly suggests that something significant did happen behind-the-scenes. A director’s sudden exit, after all, has the potential to cause major delays and cost a production millions of dollars, and isn’t a decision that would have been made lightly. Reports at the time suggested that Lin had left due to major creative differences with Diesel, who, in addition to starring as Dominic Toretto, now wields a great deal of power over the Fast & Furious franchise as a producer.
While it’s not unreasonable to suggest that creative differences with Diesel are to blame for Lin’s exit, it’s curious that Fast X was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Diesel and Lin seemingly collaborated effectively on five previous installments, and it’s not clear what might’ve changed this time around. Lin and others involved, however, are likely still under NDA about the whole experience, so it’s possible that the specific circumstances of Lin’s exit won’t be revealed for years to come.
Fast X
Vin Diesel and the family return for the tenth installment of the Fast & Furious franchise in Fast X. Charlize Theron returns as Cipher joining forces with Dante Reyes, a former foe of the Fast Family seeking revenge for the death of his father Hernan Reyes, after the events of Fast Five. Fast X is part one of a two-part conclusion to the franchise.
- Release Date
- May 19, 2023
- Director
- Louis Leterrier
- Cast
- Vin Diesel , Michelle Rodriguez , Jason Statham , Jordana Brewster , Tyrese Gibson , Ludacris , Charlize Theron , Nathalie Emmanuel , John Cena , Sung Kang , Helen Mirren , Brie Larson , Scott Eastwood , Jason Momoa
- Rating
- PG-13
- Runtime
- 141 Minutes
- Genres
- Action , Adventure , Crime
- Writers
- Justin Lin , Dan Mazeau , Gary Scott Thompson
- Budget
- $340 Million
- Studio(s)
- Universal Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures
- Sequel(s)
- Fast and Furious 11 , Fast & Furious 12
- prequel(s)
- Fast & Furious , 2 Fast 2 Furious , The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift , The Fast And The Furious , Fast 5 , Fast and Furious 6 , Furious 7 , Fast and Furious 8 , F9: The Fast Saga1
- Franchise(s)
- Fast and Furious
