Justin Lin

2022 - 5 - 2

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Variety"

'Fast X': Louis Leterrier to Replace Justin Lin as Director (Variety)

Louis Leterrier will replace Justin Lin as the director of the tenth 'Fast and Furious' movie, 'Fast X,' starring Vin Diesel.

Even in Lin’s absence, cameras have still been rolling: With stars like Vin Diesel, Charlize Theron and newcomer Jason Momoa already on set, Universal paused production on the main unit while the second unit continued filming in the U.K. The decision comes less than a week after Lin’s surprise departure from the helm of the 10th installment in the main “Fast and Furious” movie franchise. He expanded his directing career in 2005 with two modestly budgeted action showcases for Jet Li (“Unleashed”) and Jason Statham (“Transporter 2”), and he transitioned into studio tentpoles with 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk,” 2010’s “Clash of the Titans” and 2013’s “Now You See Me.” After a box office stumble with the 2016 Sacha Baron Cohen vehicle “The Brothers Grimsby,” the French filmmaker turned to television with two hit Netflix series: 2019’s “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” and 2021’s “Lupin.” (His next feature, the French-language action film “The Takedown,” will debut on the streamer on May 6.)

'Fast X' Has Reportedly Tapped Louis Leterrier to Replace Director ... (Vanity Fair)

Last week Lin parted ways with his longtime franchise amidst rumors of a rift with Vin Diesel.

On a personal note, as the child of Asian immigrants, I am proud of helping to build the most diverse franchise in movie history. And he shows up out of shape.” (Vanity Fair has reached out to reps for Lin and Diesel for comment.) Louis Leterrier, whose credits include The Incredible Hulk, Clash of the Titans, and Now You See Me, is poised to take Lin’s place, multiple outlets reported on Monday.

Justin Lin Reportedly Quit Fast X Due to Vin Diesel's 'Difficult' Behavior (MovieWeb)

A new report says Fast X director Justin Lin was unhappy with Vin Diesel's unprofessional behavior during filming.

Louis Leterrier is in talks to take over the reins from Justin Lin. Leterrier is no stranger to big-budget films, having directed Marvel’s The Incredible Hulk, Clash of the Titans (2010), Now You See Me, and Transporter 2. Johnson has rebuffed the offer but will still star in the sequel to his spin-off Hobbs and Shaw, alongside Jason Statham. Without taking any names, Johnson referred to certain male co-stars as "candy a**es" and "chickens**t," but it was apparent that the person in question was Vin Diesel. Owing to their animosity, Diesel and Johnson didn’t appear in any scenes together in Fast and Furious 8, nor did they do any press together. It’s extremely rare for a filmmaker to quit a mega-budget film in the middle of filming. Lin and Diesel appeared in an Instagram video together just last week and seemed to be having a good time. However, a new report alleges that Vin Diesel’s troublesome on-set behavior is the real reason Lin quit Fast X. As per Richard Johnson of the New York Daily News, a source familiar with the situation described Diesel as "difficult," before adding:

Vin Diesel's Set Behavior Revealed As Justin Lin Gives Up Beloved ... (GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT)

Justin Lin shocked the film world when he stepped down as director of Fast X, and now it is said to be because of Vin Diesel.

Lin had decided to stay on as a producer for the franchise, but he ultimately decided to step away as director. Justin Lin is a respected director, and it is sad to see him exit a franchise that he is truly passionate about. However, these reports might also ruin the reputation of the actor and put a pause on those who might want to star in future films based in the universe, if Diesel is involved. Lin had apparently decided to step down due to the behavior that Vin Diesel had been exhibiting while on set. According to a source close to the situation, “Diesel shows up late to the set. Diesel is a producer for the film on top of being the star of the franchise, so it makes sense that he might think himself too important to the film.

'Fast X': Louis Leterrier Top Choice To Replace Justin Lin As ... (Deadline)

Louis Leterrier is the front-runner to replace Justin Lin as director of 'Fast X,' the next 'Fast & Furious' movie.

Insiders add that Universal chief Donna Langley has had a great relationship with Leterrier over the years, and he quickly was put at the top of the list of directors to approach following Lin’s departure. Second-unit footage on Fast X is wrapping up, and once a deal closes for Leterrier to replace Lin, the studio should still have no problem making the film’s May 19, 2023, release date. Just days after the news Justin Lin was exiting as director of the next Fast and Furious installment Fast X, sources tell Deadline that Louis Leterrier is the front-runner to step in to helm the Universal film.

Louis Leterrier Will Replace Justin Lin And Direct Vin Diesel's 'Fast X' (Forbes)

US film director Louis Letterier arrives for the World Premiere of his latest film, 'The Clash of the Titans ' in London's Leicester Square, Monday March 29 ...

Bringing on Jason Momoa (star of the $1.148 billion-grossing Aquaman) and Brie Larson (star of the $1.128 billion-grossing Captain Marvel) won’t hurt. The ten Fast Saga films (counting Hobbs & Shaw) have grossed $6.615 billion worldwide on a combined $1.4 billion budget, so keeping the train on the tracks was obviously Universal’s biggest priority. Fast X is going to earn whatever Fast X is going to earn when it opens next May 19, 2023 regardless of who is in the director’s chair. He helmed the first two of Jason Statham’s star-making Transporter films (Olivier Megaton directed The Transporter 3), the terrific Jet Li actioner Unleashed and the first Now You See Me in the summer of 2013. Ironically, The Incredible Hulk was Marvel’s first flop ($268 million on a $155 million budget) before Eternals and is usually considered one of the MCU’s worst movies. That “FBI versus stage illusionists who are secretly thieves” romp earned $350 million on a $75 million budget for Lionsgate and is still among the bigger-grossing “not based on anything” live-action grossers over the last decade.

Behind Justin Lin's 'Fast 10' Breaking Point (Hollywood Reporter)

A talk about script notes with the franchise star escalated, paving way for an exit for the director: "Justin finally had enough and said, 'This movie is ...

The process was costing the studio upwards of a million dollars a day to keep crew and locations on standby. F. Gary Gray (Fast 7) is in the middle of shooting a Kevin Hart movie for Netflix. Wan is in postproduction on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. David Leitch is due to shoot a Fall Guy feature, to star Ryan Gosling, this summer. And the writing process for the movies was unorthodox, to say the least. The hoped-for hero was found in Louis Leterrier, a sturdy hand who had experience in big visual effects work, having done the remake of Clash of the Titans and the well-regarded but short-lived Netflix series, Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and action car chases thanks to the Jason Statham-starring Transporter movies. Fast 10 pivoted to shooting second-unit photography as the studio and Diesel scrambled to find a replacement director. Sources tell THR that Fast 10′s budget was hitting upwards of the $300 million mark, and that is without any marketing and publicity spend. The pressure on Universal to maintain the Fast franchise is immense. Lin’s departure was months in the making and offers a glimpse into the kind of high pressure-cooker environment that the movie series, now almost 21 years old, has become. On top of that, even as Lin tried to draw lines in the sand, the studio said it would be sending to London a writer to polish dialogue for some of the actors, a move that was expected but apparently not welcome by Lin at that time, sources say. A great many of the crew had worked on F9 with Lin and for a spell wondered what their next moves should be, but Lin, according to insiders, gave his blessing that they should stay on. Enough of the constantly changing script, enough of the process of making a Fast movie, and enough of the managing from the movie’s driving star and fellow producer, Vin Diesel, multiple sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. In the case of Fast 10, it was the director who had had enough.