KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 ― Director Justin Lin’s exit from the upcoming Fast X movie, was reportedly due to a major disagreement with franchise’s star, Vin Diesel.
Lin, via a statement released on the Fast Saga official social media accounts on Friday had said that after 10 years and five films, he has made the ‘difficult decision’ of stepping away from the franchise’s helm.
He clarified in the statement that he will still stay on as producer for the film.
#FASTX pic.twitter.com/T0w9LuYS0F
— The Fast Saga (@TheFastSaga) April 26, 2022
This came just a week after the franchise announced starting production for their tenth film, Fast X.
Although there’s no official reasons given for his exit, inside sources have told The Hollywood Reporter claiming that Lin’s exit was due to a major disagreement he had with the franchise’s lead and producer, Diesel, on April 23 during a meeting.
The four-person meeting which was held just three days before Lin’s public announcement had ‘ended with a slammed door’.
This is after the pair were reported to have disputed over the changes made in the Fast X script which had to be made due to a key location no longer a viable option to shoot in because of the war in Ukraine.
Another reason for the changes in the script was also due to the main villain of the movie not being cast yet.
Lin was aiming to finish the script before they started shooting however the film’s studio, Universal, and Diesel were pushing for more changes which has resulted in Lin saying ‘this movie is not worth my mental health’ before exiting.
Just a day before Lin’s departure, Diesel posted a video with Lin on his Instagram hyping up Fast X where some social media users pointed out how uncomfortable Lin looked in the video.
Lin wasn’t the only one who Diesel feuded with on the set of the Fast and Furious films as it was reported previously Diesel had also disputed with co-star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson who departed from the franchise in July last year.
Fast X also co-stars Jason Momoa, Brie Larson, and Charlize Theron, as well as returning main cast members Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, and Sung Kang.
The story is set to dive deeper into the Toretto family background.
Fast X is slated to premiere in theatres on May 19, 2023.
