No one asked for a two-part finale to the 10-part Fast & Furious saga (that we also didn’t ask for), but we’re getting it anyway, and you won’t catch anyone here at Jalopnik complaining. Or wait, it’s a three-part finale? Maybe? Actually, maybe the 11th and 12th installments in the Fast & Furious franchise won’t actually happen? According to the Wall Street Journal, Fast 11 (or technically, Fast X: Part 2) is in trouble, with no script actually approved yet and a big fight ongoing over the movie’s budget.
Apparently, Fast X: Part 1 cost an incredible $340 million to make, so even though the movie reportedly brought in more than $700 million worldwide, that box office total was barely enough to turn a profit. As a result, the studio wants to cut the budget for Part 2 down significantly. Whether they’ll even get that far in the process, however, still remains to be seen. After all, the picture painted in the Wall Street Journal article doesn’t sound like a movie that’s going to happen at all, especially since production has already been pushed back multiple times:
Behind the scenes, however, the conversation around the future of the Fast & Furious franchise is very different, according to people familiar with the matter. The next sequel doesn’t have an approved script or a release date. Most of the cast don’t have deals to appear in it. Executives at Universal aren’t even certain they’ll make the movie unless they and the filmmakers can find a way to produce it far more economically than the last installment, which barely earned a profit.
Maybe coming in 2027
While the studio does reportedly want to slash the budget for Fast 11, that doesn’t exactly mean they’ll be working on a shoestring budget like some A24 film. No, Universal is still reportedly willing to give them up to $200 million to make the second installment of the 10th installment in the Fast & Furious franchise. That’s a pretty hefty chunk of change, but at the same time, the WSJ reports the most recent estimates put the cost to make the latest version of the script around $250 million, meaning Vin Diesel and Co. will have to find a way to save at least $50 million.
Getting there will likely involve cutting a few international filming locations and limiting appearances from some of the more expensive actors in the cast. Whether or not they’ll actually get there still remains to be seen, though. As the WSJ reports:
Diesel initially said on social media that the next movie was scheduled for April of 2025. Then Leterrier said it would come out in 2026. Despite Diesel’s declaration at FuelFest that it’s coming in April of 2027, Universal has not set an official release date.
People close to the next Fast & Furious film hope it will start shooting next spring and come out in 2027. As Diesel suggested, they want it to take place largely in L.A., though shooting here increases budgetary challenges because of higher labor costs and less generous tax credits.
The filmmakers also hope to return the series to its street-racing roots. They haven’t said whether they’ll use technology to bring back Walker, who died during the filming of “Furious 7.”
Whether Fast 11 happens or not, there may still be more Fast & Furious coming. As the article notes, “Writers are working on scripts for a live-action television series and executives have discussed spinoff films for certain characters or a stripped-down, lower budget movie.”
