Michelle Rodriguez Reveals Why She’s Glad Fast X Director Quit
Well, that tracks.
There may be no better film franchise that has appealed to its fan base and worldwide mass appeal than that of The Fast and the Furious, otherwise known as The Fast Saga. For over twenty years, the series of films have provided a lot of action and adventure, as well as many laughs, with nine movies and a few spin-offs. The tenth film to hit the franchise, Fast X, is set to debut in theaters in May 2023 and has already seen changes during production that threatened the overall health of the series. Now it seems that one of the film’s main stars has expressed her thoughts on these changes, primarily due to the transition from one director to another, which apparently changed the mood on set as well.
According to a report by The Hollywood Reporter, Fast X star Michelle Rodriguez took note of director Justin Lin’s exit from the franchise and Louis Leterrier coming in to helm the newest installment. During the famed San Diego Comic-Con, Rodriquez stated about her experience with Leterrier, “He came with all this energy of love. We haven’t had that in Fast and Furious for a very long time where we get somebody excited who’s a real fan and who really wants to take it places that it hasn’t gone before. We’ve been at it for 20 years, bro. After all that time, you get jaded and kind of forget what you do it for [until] a director like Louis comes in and reminds you, ‘This is beautiful. Let’s go make magic.’ We’re so lucky to have him bro.” French director Louis Leterrier has mostly been known for his directorial efforts on Transporter 2, the Marvel film The Incredible Hulk, the heist movie Now You See Me, and most recently, The Takedown.
Justin Lin had left Fast X after apparent disagreements with franchise star and producer Vin Diesel. As reported by Deadline at the time, Lin remains a producer on the film, which would have been the fourth movie he directed for The Fast and the Furious franchise. He noted creative differences in his reasoning for leaving the tenth installment, even though production had already begun. However, comicbook.com notes that Lin left the project due to Diesel’s onset antics, which included being late, not being in shape for his role, and not learning his lines. Louis Leterrier was brought in to continue production and retool the film a bit, which seemed to have been a welcome surprise from Michelle Rodriguez and possibly others.
Since its initial debut to audiences in 2001, The Fast and the Furious movies have been rocked by change, and the filmmakers have had to transition the series over time. What was initially conceived as a movie about drag racing quickly morphed into a film series concerning heists and CIA escapades spanning a multitude of international locales. Always focused on the vehicles the characters drive and the continuation of the family motif, The Fast and the Furious film series is also noted for its expanding roster of actors. The franchise has starred Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, and Jordana Brewster in many of its installments before Walker’s untimely death in 2013. Since then, many actors have joined the cast, including Dwayne Johnson, John Cena, and Jason Statham. Fast X will see the return of fan favorites Diesel, Gibson, Rodriguez, Ludacris, Scott Eastwood, Nathalie Emmanuel, Helen Mirren, and Charlize Theron. Brie Larson has also been cast, although it is not apparent at this time who she will be playing in the tenth film.
