Director Justin Lin Leaves ‘Fast X’

(L to R) Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson in 'Fast Five,' directed by Justin Lin.

As a franchise, the ‘Fast & Furious’ movies have sped through all manner of challenges: changing cast rosters, the clashing, outsized movie star and music egos of some of its actors and even a long delay for the last movie because of the pandemic.

Yet somehow, none of them have screamed, “the wheels are coming off!” quite like the departure of director Justin Lin 10 days into shooting the latest installment, ‘Fast X’.

While it is not unusual for directors to depart movies, especially big ones, the fact that one of the acknowledged architects of the ‘Fast’ series, one who has produced and directed five of the movies since kicking off his association with ‘The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift’ in 2006, has stepped away – in the middle of shooting, no less – is something of a shocker.

“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. Over 10 years and five films, we have been able to shoot the best actors, the best stunts, and the best damn car chases,” Lin says in a statement posted to the franchise’s official twitter feed. “On a personal note, as the child of Asian immigrants, I am proud of helping to build the most diverse franchise in movie history. I will forever be grateful to the amazing cast, crew and studio for their support, and for welcoming me into the ‘Fast’ family.”

So far, so diplomatic. And according to sources who spoke to the likes of Deadline, the parting was amicable, if rooted in the age-old reason of “creative differences”. It’s a little more surprising, (though again, not unheard of), for those to emerge now, while the cameras are rolling, than in the months of scripting and pre-production that precede a giant movie such as this.

In the past few months there has been nothing but positivity from Camp Fast, albeit that’s because it’s primarily driven by star and producer Vin Diesel, who offers semi-regular updates on his Instagram page. It’s perhaps telling, though, that one recent example, shot to celebrate the end of the first week’s filming features a Lin who seems both tired and less than thrilled about participating.

At the time of writing, Diesel has made no comment on the matter, and Universal, which is about to present its upcoming slate to theater owners at this year’s CinemaCon, may be holding back until there is something to announced. Second Unit filming, also underway in London, is continuing.

‘Fast X’, which has kept its plot under wraps so far (though you can guess there will be outrageous car stunts, scheming villains to be thwarted and references to “family”), boasts the likes of Jason Momoa, Brie Larson and ‘The Suicide Squad’s Daniela Melchior joining the more regular ensemble, which includes Diesel, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang and Nathalie Emmanuel, plus Charlize Theron, returning as the crafty Cipher.

Right now, the movie is still scheduled to race into theaters on May 19th next year.