The script for Fast Forever is ready: Vin Diesel said, 'I’m still crying'
A bold statement has emerged from the creative side regarding the finale of the Fast & Furious series. Vin Diesel revealed that he read the current script for Fast Forever, written by Michael Lesslie, and it moved him to tears.
Diesel's enthusiastic words do not mean that the years-long uncertainty surrounding the film has come to an end. Alan Ritchson, who plays Aimes in Fast X, explained just a few days ago that there are still significant financial and logistical hurdles ahead for the production. Thus, a contradictory picture has emerged for the final film: The story is ready enough to make Diesel cry, but how this story will be filmed within a budget remains unresolved.
Vin Diesel: “The best script I’ve read in decades”
In a social media post, Diesel stated that he just read Michael Lesslie's script, saying, “The best script I’ve read in decades. I’m still crying.”
Lesslie took over the script for Fast Forever after working on projects like The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. The film is planned to complete the story left unfinished by Fast X and to take Dominic Toretto's journey back to Los Angeles, where the series began. Louis Leterrier is expected to return to direct.
Diesel's comments indicate that a draft of the script has been completed. However, Universal has not confirmed whether the script is final or if production is ready to begin filming.
Alan Ritchson discussed budget issues a few days ago
Before Diesel's post, Alan Ritchson painted a more cautious picture. The actor mentioned that Universal and the production team are trying to solve “big problems,” stating that the scale the film has reached has made production excessively expensive.
According to Ritchson, the issue is not just about cutting the budget; it's about being able to tell the story with a more measured and efficient production while keeping the big action scenes that the audience expects. Although the actor expressed his belief that the film will be made, he did not provide a timeline for when filming would begin.
These statements indicate that the script work alone has not resolved the production's deadlock. The series' recent films have become some of Hollywood's most expensive productions due to their increasingly large casts and complex action sequences, while achieving significant box office results worldwide.
The first film returns to theaters after 25 years
Diesel made the Fast Forever announcement alongside a separate return to the series' beginning. The 2001 film The Fast and the Furious, directed by Rob Cohen, will be re-released in select theaters on August 21 to celebrate its 25th anniversary.
The actor noted that it will be more meaningful to see the first film back on the big screen when the final film is released in 2028. This emphasis aligns with statements suggesting that Fast Forever will move away from the series' recent global espionage adventures and reconnect with the streets of Los Angeles and the smaller-scale world of the first film.
There has been no announcement regarding whether the re-release will include Turkey.
Release date is set, but no filming schedule
Universal has scheduled Fast Forever for March 17, 2028. However, the start date for filming, the finalized budget, and the complete list of returning actors have yet to be announced.
Fast X left Dom and his son in the midst of a dam explosion while the rest of the team was trapped on a plane taken down by Aimes' attack. The final film needs to close this unfinished story.
The real challenge ahead for Fast Forever is not just figuring out how it will end. Universal needs to find a way to actually film that finale, which made Vin Diesel cry, by bringing the series' massive production habits down to a more manageable budget.
