Fast Forever could finally move from development into production before the end of 2026. Vin Diesel says filming is expected to begin in December, more than three years after Fast X left Dominic Toretto and his son at the bottom of an exploding dam.
Diesel discussed the sequel at the 25th-anniversary screening of The Fast and the Furious in Los Angeles. The event brought the cast back to the same theater where the original movie premiered in 2001.
“We start shooting in December, if I can make good on the request from the studio,” Diesel told Variety in an interview reposted by Screen Off Script.
That qualification matters. Diesel appears confident about the schedule, but his comment suggests that at least one studio condition remains unresolved.
Fast Forever Went Through 4 Sets of Writers
The delay was not caused by a shortage of drafts. Diesel said Fast Forever went through four sets of writers during four years of development. He wanted a script he believed could close the main Fast & Furious story, and the version he read a few weeks ago brought him to tears.
Michael Lesslie, whose credits include The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and Assassin’s Creed, was hired to write the screenplay in March 2026. Louis Leterrier remains attached to direct, although he recently admitted that he had not read the latest draft.
The long writing process makes sense when considering how much Fast X left unfinished. Dante Reyes survived his fight with Dom and trapped him near a dam rigged with explosives. Letty and Cipher escaped from Antarctica, only to encounter the returning Gisele Yashar. A post-credits scene also brought Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs back into Dante’s sights.
Fast Forever must deal with those threads while giving the original characters a convincing farewell. Diesel has also spoken about bringing the story back to Los Angeles and returning to the street-racing roots that shaped the first film.
Universal Pictures has scheduled Fast Forever for March 17, 2028. A December 2026 production start would give the filmmakers roughly 15 months to shoot, edit, and complete the effects-heavy sequel.
The franchise has worked on tight schedules before, but this finale carries more baggage than most of its predecessors. It has to answer a cliffhanger, manage a large cast, and close a series that began 25 years ago.
Diesel’s update does not mean cameras are rolling yet. It does show that the script, after years of rewrites, has finally reached a version he is willing to film.