‘Fast and the Furious 11’ Is Happening — and Just Found Its Director
The tenth film, ‘Fast X’, hits theaters in May.
A familiar face is returning to the family for one last ride. Ahead of the release of Fast X, the beginning of the end for the long-running Fast and the Furious franchise, it was announced that the eleventh film — currently just titled Fast and the Furious 11, though a more colorful name is surely in the pipeline — has found its director. Variety reports that Louis Leterrier, who took over directing on Fast X from Justin Lin is set to sit in the directors’ chair once again as the series races towards its grand finale.
Leterrier took over the role of director on Fast X in May 2022, after Lin departed due to creative differences. The role came with its share of pressure, with Fast X hailed from the outset as the beginning of the end for the story of Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his found family who take life a quarter mile at a time and always live on the fringes of legal society.
What started out as a straightforward racing film featuring street racer Dom, and upstanding cop Brian (Paul Walker), slowly evolved over the course of nine film to be a high-octane action-packed juggernaut that defies the laws of gravity and plausibility (in the best way). Needless to say, pressure on Leterrier was high when he took the role for Fast X, and will likely now be even higher for him to stick the landing.
There is something to be said for consistency, though. With Fast X only the beginning of the finale, Leterrier teased that the film would end on a cliffhanger, with “war brewing” for Dom and his family. Though that teased his involvement in the film in some capacity, the choice to have the director who starts the war also be the one to oversee its end it is a logical one, and promises a satisfying conclusion for fans who have been rooted to their seats since the first film premiered in 2001.
Will the Whole Family Survive?
With a cast as large as that of Fast X, audiences are right to worry that not everyone will make it out and drive off into that sunset when Fast and the Furious 11 eventually arrives in theaters. Leterrier even teased in in the April 2023 issue of Empire Magazine, saying:
“There’s a war brewing. It’s coming to an end and it is a race to the finish. There will be some tremendous casualties. This one is big. I don’t want to oversell it, but what we’re planning on the next one is just gigantic, in terms of action, scope and emotion. You will feel all the feels. Tears will roll.”
Nevertheless, even if we must say goodbye to a few favorites along the way, there is no denying the sheer size and talent of the Fast X cast. The film sees Jason Momoa join the film as the villainous Dante, Brie Larson as the morally-ambiguous Tess, and Rita Moreno as Dom’s grandmother. In addition to Diesel, the film sees early franchise cast members Jordanna Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Sung Kang all reprise their roles, in addition to later arrivals Jason Statham, Helen Mirren, Charlize Theron, Nathalie Emmanuel, Scott Eastwood and John Cena.
Fast X hits theaters on May 19.
Source: Collider
