Justin Lin Says Not So Fast To Fast & Furious 7

News, Projects

In what should have been a one and done, and probably the series as whole, Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift became a launching pad for Justin Lin as an action director. Lin, who made his debut with Better Luck Tomorrow, now a 10-year-old crime drama about about high school Asian American overachievers who become bored with their lives, has spent the last eight years breathing life into a stagnated movie franchise and propelling to blockbuster hits.

Tokyo Drift may seem like a one off in the franchise, sort of like Halloween III, but Universal had enough confidence in Lin to let him do a true Fast & Furious sequel with both Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in the fold.

After the fifth installment, Fast Five, brought the series to unparalleled in terms of box office receipts, Universal had no doubts about giving Lin the keys to Fast & Furious 6, which arrives in theaters this Memorial Day Weekend.

But it appears that the studio wants a Fast & Furious 7 shot and ready for theaters by Summer 2014. This is according to The Hollywood Reporter. Universal Pictures’ wants conflicts with Justin Lin’s own desires. He, much like Gary Ross with The Hunger Games, didn’t feel comfortable with such a rushed production schedule, so he let the suits know that he would not be directing the seventh installment in the lucrative F&F franchise.

Lin won’t be hurting for work for much longer. His name has been attached to such rumored projects as sci-fi thrillers Hibernation and Subdivision, as well as an adaptation of the samurai epic Lone Wolf and Cub or a big-screen version of David Henry Hwang’s play Chinglish.

It will be interesting to see how quickly Universal announces a replacement director, and who that director might be.

What do you guys think? Is Universal right in its decision to want F&F7 for summer 2014, or would they be better off keeping Lin and have the film slotted for summer 2015?

Travis Leamons is one of the Inside Pulse Originals and currently holds the position of Managing Editor at Inside Pulse Movies. He's told that the position is his until he's dead or if "The Boss" can find somebody better. I expect the best and I give the best. Here's the beer. Here's the entertainment. Now have fun. That's an order!