The Fast & Furious franchise has been burning rubber and brain cells since 2001, churning out ten increasingly absurd instalments. Now, after two decades of racing melodrama, and the last instalment being titled “Fast X: Part 1,” there’s no ‘Part 2’ in sight.
The other week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Universal Pictures was having second thoughts about moving ahead with an eleventh and “final” main entry in the “Fast and Furious” franchise. According to the paper, there’s no approved script, no release date, the cast hasn’t signed on, and the studio isn’t exactly eager to burn another mountain of cash after dropping $340M on “Fast X.” In other words, this franchise is currently running on fumes.
The WSJ piece also claimed the most recent script draft would cost about $250M to shoot — meaning the studio still needs to trim roughly $50M just to make it work.
Now, franchise overlord Vin Diesel has popped up on Instagram with an update. He posted photos, and a video of himself, with Universal’s chief marketing officer, Michael Moses. In the photos, Diesel rocks a “Fast X: Part 2 Los Angeles Production 2025” shirt, while other shots show the duo in a screening room. Moses comments on the post, saying: “Out drifting with Dom Toretto. Planning everything. We’ve got it solved.” Sure, buddy.
I don’t know how many times Diesel has teased about this movie happening, an innumerable amount, There have been multiple attempts at cracking the script for this next film, with, at least, three writers having already been hired. The original April 4th, 2025, release date was also pushed back to March 2026, and it’s now, supposedly, aiming for summer 2027.
In case you missed the end credits of “Fast X” (and honestly, I wouldn’t blame you), Gal Gadot’s Gisele, who absolutely died in ‘Fast & Furious 6,’ popped up alive. Diesel has also been teasing another “surprise” return: Brian O’Conner. Yes, that’s the character played by the late Paul Walker, who will apparently be back. How? Who knows. Magic? Deepfake? Voodoo?
The Louis Leterrier-directed “Fast X” grossed $705M worldwide — the lowest haul for the franchise in over a decade. Maybe it’s time to just hang up the gloves when it comes to this one.