While Lin will remain as a producer of the tenth 'Fast and Furious' film, production of the movie will take a brief pause as execs and producers look to find his replacement.
- Apr 27, 2022
AceShowbiz - Justin Lin is hitting the brake on directing the next installment of the "Fast and Furious" film franchise. The filmmaker has announced his decision to drop out as a director of "Fast X", while he will remain as a producer.
Lin revealed the shocking decision in a statement released on Tuesday, April 26. He said, "With the support of Universal, I have made the difficult decision to step back as director of FAST X, while remaining with the project as a producer."
The 50-year-old expressed his gratitude to be a part of the huge franchise, writing, "Over 10 years and five films, we have been able to shoot the best actors, the best stunts, and the best damn car chases. On a personal note, as the child of Asian immigrants, I am proud of helping to build the most diverse franchise in movie history. I will forever be grateful to the amazing cast, crew and studio for their support, and for welcoming me into the FAST family."
Sources tell Deadline that the parting was amicable between both parties. As to why Lin decided to leave the director's seat, the insiders say it was due to creative differences.
With production having just begun on the 10th installment, the film will reportedly continue shooting some second unit footage before production takes a brief pause while execs and producers look to find Lin's replacement. The new director is expected to be announced soon as conversations with some candidates are reportedly already underway.
Lin first joined the "Fast & Furious" franchise for the third installment, "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift". After directing the fourth ("Fast and Furious"), fifth ("Fast Five"), sixth ("Fast and Furious 6") installments, he took a break before returning for "F9".
"Fast X" is plotted to be one of the last two installments of "The Fast Saga". Lin talked about mapping out the end of the story while promoting "F9" last year. "I used to sit around, talk to [Vin Diesel and [Paul Walker] - and I thought it was just an exercise, I never thought we were able to ever realize it - so it was very much in theory," he told Variety.
He continued sharing, "Then when I came back Vin pulled me aside and said, 'We're doing it.' So, in a way it felt like 'F9' is about celebrating 20 years of this journey, but also just pointing it into this last chapter that we've been talking about for years."
