In a shocking development that blindsided fans everywhere, Justin Lin stepped down as the director of Fast X with shooting already underway, releasing a statement confirming that he’ll remain on board as a producer. No specifics have been revealed as to why just yet, but social media speculation is already dredging up conspiracy theories that it might have something to do with Vin Diesel.
To be fair, you can see where the scuttlebutt is coming from, given that it’s been made abundantly clear the longtime Dominic Toretto is the reason why Dwayne Johnson has no interest in returning to Fast & Furious, but he’s happy to develop a Hobbs & Shaw sequel, a project that Diesel coincidentally had no involvement in whatsoever.
Then there’s been the rampant tales of the tank top enthusiast’s ego-driven approach to his producorial status on The Fast Saga, with his desire to land the “p.g.a.” addendum on the most recent batch of films becoming a news story in and of itself. As a result, fans are beginning to get worried that the patriarch of the family may end up trying to grab the director’s chair for himself.
Diesel initially gained mainstream attention for being a multi-hyphenate filmmaker back in the 1990s after writing, directing, producing, and starring in both Strays and Multi-Facial, while he additionally helmed Fast & Furious short film Los Bandoleros back in 2009.
On top of that, the 54 year-old claimed that no less an authority than Steven Spielberg had urged him to get back into the directing business, so you can understand why those Fast X rumors are already beginning to gather steam.
