Last week, disaster struck Universal‘s “Fast & Furious” franchise as director Justin Lin (“Star Trek Beyond“) exited the new “Fast X“ after production had already started. His sudden exit from the film, considering he was a longtime veteran of the franchise, and a writer, director, and producer on the project, left a lot of unanswered questions, such as who will replace him and why he left. Worse, Variety said last week, his exit could be costing Universal up to $1 million a day
Well, some relief has arrived. Deadline reveals that “Transporter” filmmaker Louis Leterrier is now the “frontrunner” to take over directing duties, however, scheduling could become an issue and a deal hasn’t closed yet. The French director’s other action movie credits include the comedy “The Brothers Grimsby,” Jason Statham’s “Transporter 2,” “The Incredible Hulk,” and the Jet Li film “Unleashed.”
Meanwhile, as this potentially good news arrives, a new report from The New York Daily News claims that Lin left the project mainly because of star Vin Diesel‘s already-rumored unprofessionalism. On top of claiming Lin could be walking away from $10-20 million, the Daily News cites a source that claims Diesel’s bad habits included showing up to the set late, being out of shape, and not knowing his lines.
This wouldn’t be the first time we’ve heard such allegations and Diesel being unprofessional is not hard to believe. He begged mega-star Dwayne Johnson to return for “Fast X” in a weird social media post that attempted to use Paul Walker‘s death and Walker’s children to shame him into reprising the Hobbs role in the upcoming sequel. Johnson’s response to that wacky post was simply “no” and “good luck” and Johnson has intimated several times in the past that Diesel’s onset behavior and unprofessionalism was the reason he would never return to the franchise.
If true, and again, these are repeat allegations, it’s a wonder how the rest of the cast are putting up with it. They include Charlize Theron, Jason Momoa, Brie Larson, and Daniela Melchior. Whatever the situation is or however it went down, it’s bad enough that Lin is reportedly not returning for the final film, “Fast & Furious 11,” which he had also been attached to helm and which means Universal will have to replace him on the follow-up film as well.
While it’s all speculation right now, these rumors definitely support the beef and drama between Diesel and Johnson and suggest it wasn’t just for show (many believed it was a fake feud for marketing reasons). At this point, Diesel is too embedded and too intrinsic to the “Fast & Furious” franchise to remove him, but if these stories are true, one wouldn’t be surprised if Universal is just waiting to start this thing over without him.