Fast & Furious fans were shocked Tuesday when director Justin Lin released a statement that he was effectively stepping back as director of Fast X due to “creative differences” less than a week into the production of the 10th and supposedly penultimate film of the franchise.
“With the support of Universal, I have made the difficult decision to step back as director of FAST X, while remaining with the project as a producer,” Lin wrote. “Over 10 years and five films, we have been able to shoot the best actors, the best stunts, and the best damn car chases.”
“On a personal note, as the child of Asian immigrants, I am proud of helping to build the most diverse franchise in movie history,” the statement continued. “I will forever be grateful to the amazing cast, crew, and studio for their support, and for welcoming me into the FAST family.”
Suffice to say, a director dropping out after filming has already begun is not a great look, and it didn’t take long for fans to point fingers at the star and producer of the franchise, Vin Diesel, who is famously known for being a bit of a diva on set.
(Look no further than his years-long feud with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who has refused to participate in any further films, to that effect.)
In other words, it looks like we’ve got a Vin vs. Lin situation on our hands. But given that Lin is widely credited for breathing life into the Fast and Furious movies — starting with 2006’s Tokyo Drift and then directing the fourth, fifth, sixth, and ninth installments — it seems like the fans might end up being the real losers of this professional fallout.
As such, it didn’t take long for people to start unpacking their conspiracy theories on Reddit and Twitter to get to the bottom of whatever Vin Diesel (probably) did this time to drive Justin Lin away.
“There’s no good way to spin this whatsoever,” wrote one user. “I’m willing to bet that this is Vin Diesel’s fault given he is a tyrant over this series.”
“The Fast and Furious movies would’ve never made it past 3 or would’ve been straight to DVDs movies that would’ve been sold in the $5 bin at Walmart if it wasn’t for Justin Lin,” added another user. “I hope Vin Diesel realizes that.”
At least one fan was extremely blunt, cutting to the chase.
Several detectives pointed to an Instagram video Vin Diesel had posted just four days earlier, in which Lin did not appear thrilled to be on camera or on set — or possibly both! “Vin Diesel looks like he’s holding Justin Lin hostage and he’s already thinking to himself ‘I have to get out of here,'” tweeted ComicBook.com writer Cade Onder just moments after the initial news broke.
“This noise Vin Diesel did made Justin Lin reevaluate his entire life,” quipped another user.
Others imagined the insane plot twists that Vin Diesel may have demanded (they did go into space for F9, after all) for Lin to walk the way he did.
But whether or not it was Diesel’s fault, one had to imagine he’s probably less than thrilled about Lin’s departure in the grand scheme of things, which one fan demonstrated with a video of the 54-year-old doing karaoke to Rihanna’s 2012 ballad “Stay.”
In either case, it probably won’t be long before we find out definitively one way or another since Diesel is not exactly known for keeping his cards close to his chest. As devoted fans can attest, the only thing better than Fast & Furious movies is the drama surrounding Fast & Furious movies.