With production paused as a replacement for Justin Lin is sought, reports state Louis Leterrier has become Universal’s top choice for Fast X.
Justin Lin had directed five of the nine films in The Fast & Furious franchise up until his exit from the saga’s tenth film, just last week, The loss of a series mainstay seemingly caught everybody on the hop, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, Universal has acted quickly to replace the director, unsurprising given that reports have stated that the pause in production is costing the studio up to a million dollars per day..
As the director of films such as The Incredible Hulk and Now You See Me, Leterrier is regarded by the studio as a safe pair of hands that has plenty of experience working on big-budget, effects-driven productions such as Clash Of The Titans. He knows his way around action sequences too, as the Jason Statham-fronted The Transporter surely attests.
Whilst no deal is said to be struck, Universal is planning on having the shoot up and running again in a matter of days. Second unit work is reportedly still ongoing, whilst first unit production has paused until a new director can be brought in to take up the reins.
Lin’s statement of departure, which he released on social media, is short and as is usual in these situations, gives nothing away with the filmmaker simply stating: “With the support of Universal, I have made the difficult decision to step back as director of Fast X, while remaining with the project as a producer. I will forever be grateful to the amazing cast, crew and studio for their support, and for welcoming me into the FAST family.”
With Lin’s successor surely set to be announced in short order, Universal isn’t expected to change the film’s release schedule which will see it hit cinemas on May 19th 2023. We’ll let you know when we hear confirmation of the film’s new director.
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