Fast X Director Confirms He Spoke With Justin Lin Before Taking Job

By Nathaniel Brail

Universal Pictures is getting ready to release the tenth film in the Fast and Furious franchise with Fast X, and they have already premiered the film in Rome to some sold-out reactions. Fast X was supposed to be the final film in the franchise, but it was previously revealed that the studio is working on a sequel to the epic finale, and earlier this evening, Vin Diesel revealed that they may also be working on a third part. Fast X was almost delayed due to the fact that former director Justin Lin exited the film while it was in production, and then the studio hired Louis Leterrier to take his place. Leterrier and Lin have actually been friends for quite some time and work with each other on the Commercials Production Collective with Joe and Anthony Russo (Avengers: Endgame). So, you'd think that he would have reached out to the former director when he landed the job, and you'd be right. In a new interview, Leterrier revealed that he reached out to Lin before accepting the Fast X job.

"He said, 'You're so lucky. Best guys, best crew. Good luck,'" Leterrier revealed to the Los Angeles Times. "And then I was in the midst of it, into a tunnel of work."

Fast X Cast Says Louis Leterrier Saved Film

"You're ready to shoot the thing, you don't have a finished third act and your director just quit. Welcome to the heartache," Michelle Rodriguez recently told the LA Times during a feature for Fast X. She was recalling how Fast X had to pivot when switching directors. "There's tears, because you don't want things to end up wack because people are rushing things or they're worried about money so they forget the integrity of the thing. You wonder, 'Will they find someone who's passionate enough to take this on and care enough?'"

She added how Leterrier "opened the doors of creativity." "He saved us," Rodriguez said. "He saved our ass."

Fast X Star Praises Director

"I think everyone was looking at us going, 'Wow, the wheels are coming off' — no pun intended — and Louis got us back on track," said Brewster. "I assumed that someone who just took on this job would want to go under a rock, hide and prepare and not be bombarded by everyone's suggestions. But he spoke to every single one of us and was like, 'Tell me your ideas. Tell me what you don't like about the script.' He was so generous, and that set the tone. And I think that's very rare for a director, to be that open and not to be precious."

What do you think about Louis Leterrier's comments? Are you sad Justin Lin left Fast X? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @NateBrail up on Twitter!

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