Alan Ritchson knows why Fast Forever still is not shooting, and it is not the script

Here we go again. The Fast & Furious saga is back in the news, and as ever, it's because the next film—currently titled Fast Forever—is acting like a car stuck in first gear. If you thought Fast X leaving us on a cliffhanger was rough, wait until you see the behind-the-scenes drama unfolding just to get the next instalment rolling.

Filming on Fast Forever is currently expected to begin in December 2026.

Waiting to Hit the Accelerator

Right, a bit of backstory. Fast X landed in cinemas back in 2023, and was always meant to be part one of a two-parter. Fans expected a quick turnaround for the follow-up, but instead it's dragged on with more delays than your average rush hour in London. Vin Diesel had everyone buzzing earlier this summer when he released a video hinting that shooting had kicked off—but, in classic modern franchise fashion, it turned out there were no cameras rolling. Everyone was, once again, left waiting.

Recently, Diesel came out with a fresh update and said he was now hoping to commence principal photography in December. To shed some light on why things have dragged, he blamed it in part on creative headaches and a constantly changing script:

Speaking during a recent interview, Diesel explained, 'We start shooting in December, if I can make good on the request from the studio. I’m in a good place, though. I had to go through four sets of writers, four years of development, to get to something that I felt would be worthy of a finale. And when I read the script a couple of weeks ago, [I cried].'

Is Vin Grabbing the Wheel?

Normally, you'd expect French director Louis Leterrier (the bloke who took charge of Fast X when Justin Lin bailed early in production) to return to the director's chair. He was the studio's pick for Fast Forever as well. But here's where things get murky. While promoting his other film, The Last House, Leterrier casually let slip that he hadn't even seen a script for Fast Forever yet. He added that he'd been keeping himself busy on other projects while waiting for Diesel and Universal to sort themselves out. Doesn't exactly scream 'ready to roll, does it?

Then Vin Diesel stirred the pot with a mysterious post on Instagram: a moody snap of Dominic Toretto's iconic Dodge Charger, accompanied by the cryptic caption, 'Director… Hmmm…' No explanation, of course—because why make things simple? The post has left everyone wondering if Diesel plans to direct the film himself. Don't forget, it wouldn't be his first time behind the camera: he directed his indie films Multi-Facial and Strays, and even shot the Fast franchise short Los Bandoleros before the fourth movie. Make of that what you will; the fans are certainly speculating.

Stalled by the Price Tag

Seeing as this franchise rakes in billions for Universal, you'd assume the studio would be breaking speed limits to get this next one moving. But according to Fast X cast member Alan Ritchson, the real hold-up is the size of the budget. Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Ritchson said he chats with the Fast Forever team often, and laid out the headache Universal is facing:

As Ritchson described it: 'There’s just a lot of obstacles. It’s expensive to make— it’s too expensive; it doesn’t make a ton of sense. There’s a more efficient way to shoot those shows. And so there has to be a way to show restraint, while also honoring the fact that this world has expanded to something humongous. We are at the crossroads of something very hard to figure out, and everybody’s figuring it out.'

So to sum up: Fast Forever still isn't in production, the director's seat is suddenly looking unclaimed, the script has been through more rewrites than a student dissertation, and Universal are sweating the numbers. Honestly, that cliffhanger at the end of Fast X suddenly feels a lot more realistic.