Remember when Vin Diesel took the stage earlier this year and bragged that Universal executives had “begged” him to deliver the next ‘Fast & Furious’ by April 2027?
He boasted, laying down his demands: “I said under three conditions,” Diesel declared. He wanted to bring the series back to Los Angeles, rediscover the street-racing culture that birthed it, and—most brazenly—reunite Dom Toretto with Paul Walker’s character. “That is what you’re gonna get!” Diesel shouted as he stormed off.
Yeah, turns out, most of that wasn’t true.
A Wall Street Journal bombshell has now dismantled Diesel’s story. According to insiders, the next sequel doesn’t even have a completed script. No release date has been set. Most of the cast haven’t signed deals. And Universal isn’t even certain it wants another one—at least not unless they can slash about $140M from the budget compared to ‘Fast X.’
If you’d told me ten years ago that the billion-dollar Fast & Furious machine needed to slash its budget this drastically, I’d have laughed. But here we are. Eleven films, $7.3 billion in global grosses, and suddenly the brand is on life support. In 2025, mega-franchises are falling like dominoes. Just look at Marvel.
The numbers don’t lie. ‘Fast X’ was the lowest-grossing entry in over a decade at $705M worldwide—and also the most expensive, ballooning past $300M. Universal wants the same spectacle, but with a tighter budget. According to the report, the last draft of “Fast X: Part 2” was too pricey, and still needed about $50M in cuts to even make that happen.
Meanwhile, Diesel is demanding a $25M payday for each instalment. The last production collapsed under his watch, with longtime director Justin Lin walking away mid-shoot over “creative differences” with Diesel. Louis Leterrier stepped in, but not before the budget went spiraling out of control.
The timeline is a mess. Diesel once swore the next chapter would hit in 2025. Then Leterrier claimed 2026. At FuelFest, Diesel doubled down, announcing April 2027. Universal? They haven’t a clue.
There’s even talk of bringing the franchise back to its “street-racing roots.” And yes, the question remains whether Paul Walker’s character will be digitally resurrected. Diesel recently hinted as much, though Universal has not confirmed.
Whether the last chapter ever gets made remains uncertain, but don’t worry, Universal is looking at spinoffs and smaller-scale projects, both for theaters and television, and that’s no doubt without Diesel’s involvement.