Vin Diesel’s Furious 11 update puts the brakes on Fast Forever

So, if you caught that Vin Diesel 'on-set' update and thought the next Fast & Furious was finally rolling cameras, you're not alone. Fans all over the internet had a collective meltdown last week after Diesel dropped a video that, on the surface, looked like the big franchise finale was finally racing into production. Well, buckle up, because the full story is a bit of a swerve.

What Actually Happened With That Set Video

Here's where it gets a bit odd. Diesel posted footage to Instagram where he's standing next to his character Dom Toretto's trusty 1970 Dodge Charger. Crew are moving about in the background looking like they're prepping for a shot. It all screams 'first day on Fast Forever', doesn't it?

Except, it wasn't. As it turns out (cheers to TheWrap for catching this), Diesel wasn't making Fast Forever at all. He was actually filming a World Cup promo, which ended up airing during the USA vs Belgium match at the weekend. So if you imagined Universal quietly cranking up production, that's not the case. This was all for football, not family.

'I'm on set. People are grinding. Incredible crews are working,' Diesel says in the video, thanking fans for sticking it out through the series' endless delays.

Pretty crafty, to be fair – he managed to wind up fans, fuel buzz, and promote a World Cup tie-in all at once. But yes, Fast Forever hasn’t started shooting, and Universal are keeping pretty quiet about when it actually will.

Fast Forever: Still in the Slow Lane

Let's bring everyone up to speed. After Fast X dropped in 2023, the so-called finale of the saga was meant to be a two-parter, leaving fans hanging on a cliff edge (as per usual). Since then, it’s mostly been radio silence, with the odd rumour or Instagram tease.

• Official production on Fast Forever has not begun.
• Universal haven’t confirmed which actors are returning, though the last film set up possible comebacks for Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson.
• Michael Lesslie (who did the recent Hunger Games prequel) is rewriting the script. The previous draft was by Aaron Rabin and Zach Dean.
• Louis Leterrier, who was parachuted in to direct Fast X after Justin Lin bailed, isn’t officially on board for the finale yet. Universal are keeping mum there too.
• Universal are still officially aiming for a 17 March 2028 cinema release. No comment on whether that’ll be pushed back.

For a bit of context, The Fast & the Furious kicked off back in 2001 and has since become a proper Hollywood juggernaut — ten core films and over $7 billion at the global box office. But this last stretch has been loaded with behind-the-scenes turbulence, including directors swapping out, scripts getting rewritten, and now complete confusion over what 'on set' actually means.