Universal Reportedly Hesitant to Greenlight Final ‘Fast & Furious’ Movie – Here’s Why

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The future of the Fast & Furious franchise is looking shaky once more. A recent report in The Wall Street Journal states that Universal Pictures leaders are reluctant to begin work on another Fast & Furious film unless they can reduce the production costs by at least $50 million.

The new movie, intended to be the final chapter in this popular series, has experienced a number of difficulties in the last two years.

The project was first revealed in 2023 with the intention of following Fast X and concluding the film series. Fast X’s director, Louis Leterrier, was set to return, and the movie was initially planned for release in 2025. Unfortunately, several setbacks – including delays, script revisions, and pauses in production – have prevented the project from moving forward.

Vin Diesel, who has been the face of the series from the start, had said the eleventh film would be “a return to the roots” of the franchise, and would bring back Brian O’Conner – the character played by the late Paul Walker. However, in June, Diesel announced the movie’s release date had been delayed once more, now scheduled for April 2027.

Even though Vin Diesel is hopeful, The Wall Street Journal says the studio still hasn’t given the go-ahead to a script or set a release date. The majority of the original actors, including important returning cast members, haven’t signed contracts yet, and it’s still not clear what direction the story will take.

Work on the project started soon after Fast X came out in cinemas. Originally, Christina Hodson and Oren Uziel were writing the screenplay, but Zach Dean took over in 2024. The film was envisioned as a return to the style of the first movie from 2001, telling a more focused story with one main objective instead of a large, worldwide plot.

Production was also slowed down by the 2023 strikes from the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, which temporarily stopped most large-scale filmmaking in Hollywood.

After that, the studio has been careful about spending a lot of money on another Fast & Furious movie. This is because Fast X didn’t perform as well in theaters as previous films in the series.

If Universal Studios decides to make the film, it would be the 11th movie in the core series and conclude the story that started over 20 years ago. However, at the moment, the project seems to be stalled and not progressing.

The Fast & Furious movies were huge hits in the 2000s and 2010s, but the series isn’t performing as strongly now. Universal Pictures appears hesitant to invest a lot of money in another large-scale film unless they have a solid strategy.

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2025-10-05 10:28