‘Fast X’ director Louis Leterrier initially turned down the project out of fear

Director Louis Leterrier has spoken about how he felt after being offered the opportunity to direct the 10th installment of the Fast and Furious saga, Fast X. The director revealed that he was afraid to take the job to fears of being the guy that ruined the franchise.

During an interview with Collider, Leterrier said that he was afraid to be the guy who will ruin the franchise since his name would be attached to the film. People who knew him encouraged him to take the job but he was afraid that he would be the cause of the film’s failure.

“People are like, ‘But it’s fine because, at the end of the day, you tried your best.’ I was like, ‘No.’ Because if you fail, your name is attached, you’re the guy who killed the Fast & Furious franchise, you know? There’s no poster that says, ‘Well, we didn’t have the budget so the movie is not as good. The schedule was bad, the weather was horrible.’ No one cares. They judge you.”

Leterrier also shared how his wife also encouraged him to take the job. The director fell in love with the project after he met the team and read the script to the point where his wife pushed him to get involved. Fortunately, the film director took the job and had a great first day, based on what he told the press during the Fast X red carpet premiere.

“So that was the thing, and that really is why, Steve, I said no in the beginning. At first I said, ‘Yes, of course!’ And then after, I was like – as much as I loved the script that I had read, and meeting these people – I was like, terrified. So I was about to say no, and my wife was like, ‘No, you’re doing it, you’re doing it!’”

Leterrier was the second director to be involved in directing Fast X. Prior to his involvement, Justin Lin was supposed to continue with his directing duties with the franchise after having directed four of its movies. But in April 2022, Lin announced he was stepping down from the project, which led to people blaming Vin Diesel for being the cause of the director’s departure.

Fast X is the first part of the epic finale of the Fast and Furious saga, with Part 2’s release date announced during 2023 CinemaCon. This epic finale of this over two-decades-old franchise is set to hit theaters on May 19, 2023.