The Future of FAST & FURIOUS is in Jeopardy Unless The FAST X Sequel Production Can Cut Costs
The Fast & Furious franchise has been one of Hollywood’s most profitable juggernauts for nearly 25 years, raking in over $7.4 billion across 11 high-octane installments.
You’d think that kind of success would guarantee another film, especially one meant to serve as a grand finale. But it turns out Fast X: Part 2 is hitting some major roadblocks, and it might not happen at all unless the production team can find a way to seriously slash the budget.
According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Fast X: Part 2 still doesn’t have “an approved script,” an official release date, or even a confirmed cast.
Even more concerning, Universal executives “aren’t even certain they’ll make the movie unless they and the filmmakers can find a way to produce it far more economically than [Fast X],” which “barely earned a profit” despite making $714.5 million worldwide.
To put that into perspective, Fast X reportedly cost around $340 million to produce. Universal wants the next film’s budget to be in the neighborhood of $200 million, but as of now, estimates put Fast X: Part 2 closer to $250 million. That means something’s got to give.
The studio is reportedly looking at ways to trim down production costs, including “shooting in fewer global locations and giving some cast members smaller roles.” Considering how globe-trotting and ensemble-heavy this franchise has become, that’s not an easy task, but it might be the only way forward.
For Vin Diesel, who’s still driving the creative direction of the saga, this presents a big challenge. Diesel has teased plenty of ambitious ideas for the film, even floating the controversial notion of digitally bringing back Paul Walker’s character, Brian O’Connor. But whether he’ll get the chance to bring any of that to life remains uncertain.
From a business perspective, Universal’s cost-cutting stance makes sense. The days of guaranteed billion-dollar blockbusters are behind us. Before the pandemic, the franchise could confidently cross the $1 billion mark. Today, even major superhero movies are struggling to hit those numbers.
For example, this year’s highest-grossing comic book movie, Superman, topped out at $615.7 million, while multiple Marvel releases have failed to break even.
Studios are adjusting to a new reality where ticket sales alone can’t justify massive production costs. Marvel has started scaling down with smaller budgets and lesser-known stars for its upcoming X-Men reboot, and now it looks like Fast & Furious will have to make similar sacrifices to survive.
If the creative team can’t rein in the spending, Fast X: Part 2, and potentially the entire Fast & Furious saga, might hit the brakes for good.