Vin Diesel Reportedly to Blame for ‘Fast X’ Director Justin Lin’s Sudden Departure

The Fast and The Furious director Justin Lin‘s decision to leave Fast X was a shocker, considering his long-term relationship with Universal Pictures’ biggest film franchise. There were multiple reasons behind his departure, including clashes with star and fellow producer Vin Diesel. The situation reached such a boiling point that Lin decided working on the film was not worth sacrificing his mental health for.

Lin was also a co-writer on the movie and thought his script was locked when production was about to start. However, Diesel and Universal thought there was more work to be done, sources told The Hollywood Reporter. First, the production lost a key location in Eastern Europe because of the war in Ukraine, and then they still had not found an actor to play one of the villains. In addition, Universal told Lin it was sending another writer to London to work on the dialogue.

On April 23, the situation became untenable for Lin. He had a “major disagreement” with Diesel, sources told THR. There was a four-person meeting that began with Diesel giving Lin notes and ended with doors being slammed. “Justin finally had enough and said, ‘This movie is not worth my mental health,’” a source told THR.

Lin became convinced he was done with the movie. On April 25, the studio and Lin reached a deal for his exit. He could remain a producer, but would no longer direct. Lin gave members of the crew to stay on the production. Lin and Diesel did not comment on the report. “Any creative differences leading to Justin Lin’s exit were with the studio, not with fellow producers, cast, or crew,” a Universal spokesperson said.

Three days after the blowup between Lin and Diesel, Universal announced Lin’s departure. “With the support of Universal, I have made the difficult decision to step back as director of Fast X,” Lin wrote in a statement published on the franchise’s Instagram page. He went on to note how “proud” he is of “helping to build the most diverse franchise in movie history” and thanked the cast, crew, and studio for their support. Louis Leterrier (Now You See Me) is reportedly the frontrunner to replace Lin.

Lin has directed five Fast movies and is partly responsible for the franchise going from modestly-budgeted movies centered on car stunts to massive global blockbusters. After directing The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), he helmed Fast & Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013), and last year’s F9. The movies have become Universal’s biggest money-makers, with all nine grossing a combined $6 billion.

They have also become some of the most expensive projects in Hollywood, meaning the pressure to make sure Fast X is great has only grown more extreme. Sources told THR that Fast X‘s budget was creeping towards $300 million before marketing and publicity is included. Salaries for the stars have ballooned, and it has only grown bigger with Jason Momoa and Brie Larson joining the franchise. However, their salaries are dwarfed by Diesel’s. The actor even reportedly can dismiss an action scene after a writer has already worked on it. “The whole process is a mosaic that never stops moving,” one insider said.

Leterrier emerged as the top candidate because other obvious replacements are too busy. Fate of the Furious director F. Gary Gray is making a Kevin Hart movie for Netflix. Furious 7 director James Wan is finishing work on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw filmmaker David Leitch is working on Fall Guy with Ryan Gosling. Leterrier is expected to sign on later this week.