A recent report from The Wall Street Journal claimed that ‘Fast 11’ didn’t even have a finished script, with much of the cast still unsigned. It also suggested Universal wasn’t fully committed to another instalment—unless Vin Diesel and the team could cut roughly $140 million from the budget compared to “Fast X.”
Despite that uncertainty, Universal scheduled the long-delayed franchise finale, titled “Fast Forever,” for March 17, 2028. Will they hit that date? They have to two years to get it done.
On Thursday, star and producer Vin Diesel revealed on Instagram that Michael Lesslie will write the screenplay for “Fast Forever,” revising on a previous draft. His recent credits include The Hunger Games prequels ‘The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’ and ‘Sunrise on the Reaping,’ along with “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” and Riz Ahmed’s modern take on “Hamlet.” He’s also rumored to write Marvel’s upcoming X-Men reboot.
Lesslie is now the sixth writer to take a crack at the “Fast Forever” script, following previous scribes Christina Hodson, Oren Uziel, Aaron Rabin, Zach Dean, and Gary Scott Thompson.
At this point, the franchise spans ten films and $7.3 billion in global box office, with this eleventh —and final—chapter still being worked on. The last instalment, “Fast X” marked somewhat of a low point: it grossed $705M worldwide, its weakest performance in over a decade, while also becoming the most expensive entry, with a budget exceeding $300M.
The production itself was troubled. Longtime director Justin Lin exited midway through filming, reportedly due to creative differences with Diesel. Louis Leterrier stepped in, but not before costs had already surged. Letterier is supposed to stay onboard and direct the eleventh instalment.
The release timeline for “Fast Forever” has been equally chaotic. Diesel initially promised a 2025 debut, Leterrier later suggested 2026, and Diesel then announced April 2027 at FuelFest. Now, Universal is asking audiences to accept 2028 as the definitive release date.
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