The Search For A New Fast X Director May Be Costing Universal $1 Million A Day

"The Fast & Furious" franchise has always been about money. Making money, spending money, losing money, stealing money, and otherwise burning money pretty fast. The Toretto crime family started out as DVD-player thieves, then quickly escalated to stealing $100 million from a corrupt Brazilian businessman. If that wasn't enough, once the family became international super spies, they turned from stealing money to outright causing millions in property damage by destroying everything from cars, to planes, a nuclear sub, and part of the Etihad Towers.

Now, the family has found their biggest target yet — Universal Studios, with a director replacement causing the studio to hemorrhage money faster than a car hitting the NOS.

The Fast Saga has hit perhaps its biggest complication so far, with "Fast X" (really a worse title than "Fast 10 Your Seatbelts") losing its director mere days after cameras started rolling — despite promising to be one hell of a "Fast & Furious" film, with not only Brie Larson becoming the latest member of the family, but Duncan Idaho himself — Jason Momoa — joining as the villain.

Director Justin Lin, who is also producing and co-wrote the film, stepped away as a director earlier this week, reportedly due to creative differences. Well, in case the phrase "a big blockbuster director quits after filming had already begun" wasn't enough of a clue, Variety reports that Lin's departure is costing Universal a lot of money while they find a replacement. According to the report, the second unit of filming will continue production in the U.K., but the main unit will be put on hold until a new director is recruited. This waiting game is costing the production more than a few extra Coronas, with Variety mentioning that Universal will be spending "upwards of $600,000 to $1 million a day," with the delay becoming more costly the bigger a delayed set piece is. 

As the report also mentions, the logical replacement for Lin would be someone familiar with the franchise, but every living director who has helmed a "Fast & Furious" movie is rather busy or not working anymore, leaving a single option left — Vin Diesel himself. It is finally time for Vinnie to not just say that he loves "the movies" in funny commercials worthy of "SNL" sketches, but to sit in the big chair and bring this franchise home.

"Fast X" is set to release in theaters on May 19, 2023.