Life can come at you pretty fast [and furious] sometimes.
We learned (here) that the final movie, well movies as it’s a two-parter, in the Fast and Furious franchise started filming on April 20th under the title Fast X – logo above – and once again Justin Lin, the man who made the series what it was, was helming the franchise’s swan song along with all the returning faces with star Vin Diesel at the helm.
Indeed, just a couple of days ago Diesel and Lin posted a video together celebrating the beginning of filming, with Lin saying: “It feels like the beginning of, uh, of an epic ending,”
Check the video out here:
View this post on Instagram
However, many fans noted that Lin looked very awkward in the clip and, on watching it, it’s hard to deny.
And, given Lin’s next post on social media, it seems the fans were right.
Yesterday Lin on the official Instagram:
“With the support of Universal, I have made the difficult decision to step back as director of FAST X, while remaining with the project as a producer. Over 10 years and five films, we have been able to shoot the best actors, the best stunts, and the best damn car chases. On a personal note, as the child of Asian immigrants, I am proud of helping to build the most diverse franchise in movie history. I will forever be grateful to the amazing cast, crew and studio for their support, and for welcoming me into the FAST family.”
Whatever caused this departure, it must have been quick and fairly drastic as Lin is as much a part of the Fast franchise as Diesel or anyone else and, as someone who only really fell in love with the series after he came on board, and because of the five installments he directed [and the unofficial Better Luck Tomorrow] I can say, as a fan, that this is a big, big loss to all us out here excited for the series’ big exit.
It’s also estimated that his departure is causing Universal as much as $1m per day to keep the cast and crew on board while a director is found. Ouch.
What say you all? Are you as sorry as I am that Lin is gone or are you glad to see him go? Let me know all your thought on this one, guys.
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
Nerd Comments