Featured Image Credit: Universal Pictures
Topics: TV And Film
Last week it was announced that long time director of the Fast & Furious franchise, Justin Lin, was stepping down as director of Fast X and now we know why.
According to several sources who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter, Lin exited as director after a falling out with both Universal and actor Vin Diesel. Filming has only just begun on the tenth film in the franchise, but it was arguments over the script which led to Lin’s departure. Lin is a series veteran and has directed five Fast & Furious films starting with the third movie Tokyo Drift. The franchise has gone from pulling in a modest $200 million to peaking at over $1.5 billion with Furious 7.
You can catch up on the latest Fast & Furious film, Fast & Furious 9 in the video below.
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It is rumoured that Lin believed he had completed and locked in the script for Fast X prior to the meetings in April. However, Universal seemed to have other ideas. The studio sent over a writer to London - presumably Dan Mazeau who has now been credited with co-writing the script - to clean up some dialogue. This was apparently a decision which Lin was not happy about.
Then on 23 April, sources claimed that Lin exited a meeting following a “major disagreement” with Vin Diesel. The meeting about the script, at which both Diesel and Lin were present, was reportedly cut short as Diesel had brought his own notes about the writing to the meeting. Lin walked out, and is rumoured to have said “This movie is not worth my mental health.”
Universal denies this, releasing a statement which read: “Any creative differences leading to Justin Lin’s exit were with the studio, not with fellow producers, cast or crew.” Lin will remain on the project as producer, and the crew which he brought with him onto the film will remain in their positions.
Lin officially responded, “With the support of Universal, I have made the difficult decision to step back as director of Fast X.” He thanked his cast and crew for their support, and expressed pride at helping to build “the most diverse franchise in movie history.”
Captain Marvel actor, Brie Larsson, has since been brought on to the project in an undisclosed role. This was after an interview in February where she expressed interest in appearing in the franchise.