The Truth Behind How Creative Clashes Blew Up FAST X and Drove Justin Lin to Walk Away

The road to Fast X was supposed to be smooth, loud, and nitrous-fueled. Instead, the franchise that built itself on loyalty and horsepower hit one of its biggest creative potholes when longtime director Justin Lin suddenly stepped away from the film just days into shooting.

Fans have speculated what happened, especially with the sequel still stalled and the future of the Fast & Furious saga drifting in uncertainty.

Now, thanks to a revealing excerpt from Barry Hertz’s upcoming book Welcome to the Family: The Explosive Story Behind ‘Fast & Furious,’ the Blockbusters that Supercharged the World, we finally have a clear picture of what really happened behind the scenes.

Fast X arrived in 2023 as the first half of a supposedly grand two-part finale. But cracks appeared early. The production was juggling a massive cast, a ballooning budget, and the always-challenging task of outdoing the previous films’ spectacle.

Then came the bombshell that Lin had suddenly exited, which raised all kinds of alarms across Hollywood and forced Universal to scramble for a replacement director.

According to Hertz’s book (via IndieWire) that shake-up was just the beginning of the chaos swirling around the film.

Lin was already developing the story for Fast X while the world was locked down awaiting the release of F9: The Fast Saga. Ideas were flying from every direction, and not all of them were compatible. Zoom meetings turned into creative tug-of-wars as the film attempted to find its shape.

Subplots featuring Dwayne Johnson’s Hobbs came and went. A massive showdown pitting Hobbs and Jason Statham’s Shaw against Dominic Toretto and Jakob Toretto was considered. But nothing compared to one scrapped idea that sounds like a full-tilt comic book crossover. As Hertz writes:

"And most outrageously, at one point Dante assembles what an early script refers to as 'our Legion of Doom,' in which Cole Hauser's Carter Verone ('2 Fast'), Laz Alonso's Fenix ('Fast 4'), Joe Taslim's Jah ('Fast 6'), Ronda Rousey's Kara ('Furious 7'), and various other Toretto enemies return to seek collective revenge:

'That's the best thing about you, Dom,' Dante says in the abandoned draft. 'Only thing you got more of than family — is enemies.' In and out, up and down — opinions on and changes to the script came from every direction."

With new ideas constantly reshaping the movie, the creative ground never settled. But that still wasn’t what drove Lin out the door.

Production kicked off in April 2022, and things initially looked promising. Lin directed fight sequences centered on Charlize Theron’s Cipher and Jason Momoa’s Dante, and according to the crew, morale was high. Cinematographer Stephen F. Windon recalls:

"We shot on a Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and it was all Charlize and Jason [Momoa]. I remember that Friday night, I saw Justin and he was the happiest I'd ever seen.

“He was delighted with the way it was going — he loved the chemistry between Charlize and Jason. And then, whatever happened, it happened over that weekend. And I never saw him after that."

Whatever occurred during those few days changed everything.

Hertz reveals that Lin’s departure stemmed from escalating creative disagreements with star Vin Diesel, along with Diesel’s sister and producing partner Samantha Vincent.

One major dispute reportedly centered on a proposed twist involving Dom’s young son Brian. According to the book, Diesel opposed the storyline revealing the child was actually the biological son of Jason Momoa’s Dante.

At the same time, Universal Pictures wasn’t sold on the original finale Lin envisioned, involving a colossal machine devouring and ejecting cars in a sequence that sounded closer to Transformers than Fast & Furious.

With pressure mounting from every direction, the tension finally erupted during what Hertz describes as a "heated closed-door meeting."

After that, Lin made the decision to walk away. He encouraged much of his creative team to stay onboard and finish the film, but his own journey with the franchise ended that day.

With Fast 11 still drifting and the saga’s future unclear, Hertz’s book is shaping up to be a must-read for fans who want a deeper look into one of Hollywood’s wildest behind-the-scenes stories.

Welcome to the Family hits shelves on November 25, 2025, and if the excerpt is any indication, it’s packed with even more revelations about the high-octane drama surrounding one of the biggest franchises in Hollywood.

For now, we finally know why Justin Lin hit the brakes on Fast X, and the real story is just as dramatic as anything the series has ever put on screen.

In my opinion, Fast X ended up being the worst film in the franchise, so Lin leaving was probably the worst thing that could’ve happened to the franchise.