While we’ve seen director switch-ups in the “Star Wars” and Marvel franchises in the past, it’s less common for the “Fast & Furious” franchise. Yet, after handling five installments, director Justin Lin made the shocking announcement of his departure from “Fast X” after production recently started, and the studio is now looking for someone to take the driver’s seat. Lin’s departure has been attributed to “creative differences,” but creative differences with who? Lin is a producer, a co-writer, and the architect of this franchise as a filmmaker, so there’s likely a lot more to this story (plus he left after production started which is a huge no-no in this industry unless you’re just desperate to get out of an untenable situation).
Meanwhile, in a new report from Variety, the outlet states that the second unit team is said to be filming in the United Kingdom while Universal finds a replacement for Lin, adding that the estimated costs to the studio for a director leaving during filming might be in the range of $600,000 to $1 million a day. This cost will certainly rise, because even if they get a new director tomorrow, that person would still need time to prep and get up to speed on the mission and the very complex action sequences.
READ MORE: Justin Lin Reportedly Won’t Be Directing The Final ‘Fast & Furious’ Installment Either
The second unit team usually handles exteriors and some action sequences, but the work they do can greatly range from the mundane to the super complicated and even dangerous. However, it’s unclear whether the portion they’re currently shooting is getting the more expensive scenes out of the way, or just shooting the boring, simple stuff while they have the actors and crew in place.
Without knowing concrete details of why Lin exited production, it’s really hard to direct any “blame,” but a veteran filmmaker so closely associated with a franchise like that generally does not leave a production in the lurch unless there are extreme circumstances.
“Fast X” is supposed to zoom into theaters on May 19, 2023, with an impressive supporting cast that includes Jason Momoa, Brie Larson, Charlize Theron, and Daniela Melchior.