No small amount of irony in Justin Lin exiting the Fast & Furious franchise, all because Universal is going too damn fast!
Though a completely amicable departure, Lin will be foregoing directing duties on the 7th film as Universal is demanding one ready for summer of next year. The filmmaker has directed the last four films in the franchise and is said to be “exhausted” and not particularly interested in developing the next movie before this one is even finished. Can’t say I blame him. I wonder if Universal wishes they’d pushed harder for that back-to-back production of 6 and 7 they were originally after.
I’m inclined to believe Lin on this one whereas, say, Gary Ross’s timetable-based departure from Hunger Games seemed like a more complicated mix of salary disagreements and interest in other projects. I legitimately believe Lin is exhausted, and a one-year turnaround for a blockbuster of this scale is kind of nuts…
It’s said they’ll pick his replacement very quickly (duh), so do you have any suggestions to toss out before we hear the final choice? I suggest Refn!
Source | THR