Movies - Fast X : be ready for the awesome trailer in 10 days

By Mulder, 31 january 2023

Fast X  is an upcoming American action film directed by Louis Leterrier and written by Justin Lin and Dan Mazeau. It is the sequel to F9 (2021), serving as the tenth main installment and the eleventh overall installment in the Fast & Furious film series. The film stars an ensemble cast including Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, John Cena, Jason Momoa, Michelle Rodriguez, Brie Larson, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Nathalie Emmanuel, Scott Eastwood, Michael Rooker, Daniela Melchior, Alan Ritchson, Helen Mirren, Cardi B, Rita Moreno, and Charlize Theron. In the film, Dominic Toretto (Diesel) and his crew must seek help in their fight against Cipher (Theron) when she recruits Dante (Momoa), a mysterious new adversary.

With the tenth film planned since 2014, and a two-part finale planned since October 2020, Lin was confirmed to return to direct with the main cast attached. The film's official title was revealed when principal photography began in April 2022. Lin left as director later that month, citing creative differences, though he retained writing and producing credits. Leterrier was then hired as his replacement a week later. With an estimated production budget of $340 million, it is the fifth-most expensive film ever made. Filming lasted until that August, taking place in London, Rome, Turin, Lisbon, and Los Angeles.

Principal photography began on April 21, 2022, with the film's title being revealed and Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges,Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, and Charlize Theron confirmed to reprise their roles. According to Diesel, an earlier draft excluded Brewster's character, which he overturned. The next day, Michael Rooker was confirmed to reprise his role as Buddy from F9.  Fast X's production budget was initially reported to be $300 million in May 2022, which was revised to $340 million that November. Salary of the film's cast earned over $100 million, including $20 million for Diesel. Other costs for the rising budget (which factors in tax-incentive offsets) included increases in production costs caused by global inflation and charges for pandemic testing requirements mandated by COVID-19 safety protocols. According to unnamed sources reporting to Radar, Diesel reportedly "stressed" over the increased budget and the creative decisions in Fast X; sources wrote Diesel is considered by Universal as "simultaneously the greatest star [they've] had and their biggest headache" and that "Diesel doesn't let anybody forget how the Fast & Furious franchise is important to the whole film industry".

A week after filming commenced, Lin exited the film as director due to "creative differences", leaving primary production stalled. However, Lin will remain on board as a producer.  Later reports alleged that Lin clashed on set with Diesel, who purportedly arrived out of shape, was often late, and did not remember his lines. Lin was also upset with rewrites to his screenplay, as well as changing filming locations and one of the film's villains having yet to be cast; a disagreement with Diesel reportedly escalated to the point it caused Lin to shout, "This movie is not worth my mental health." Second unit production remained ongoing in the United Kingdom while the studio sought for a replacement director. Universal Pictures reportedly spent $1 million a day to pause production. Former Fast & Furious directors F. Gary Gray and David Leitch, who previously directed The Fate of the Furious and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw respectively, were considered by the studio to replace Lin, however neither were likely to step in due to their commitments with Lift and The Fall Guy (2024), respectively. Furious 7 director James Wan, who was once considered to direct The Fate of the Furious but declined due to his straining experience on Furious 7, was also considered a "viable option" but was tied with commitments to Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023). Variety reported hiring an "A-list" director was not probable without drastic changes to the screenplay and Universal would likely turn to a second unit director "well-versed" in big-budget action films.On May 2, 2022, Louis Leterrier was announced as Lin's replacement. Leterrier already had an established relationship with the studio, having previously directed The Incredible Hulk (2008), and began filming in London after scheduling and contractual considerations were confirmed. Production in London concluded in mid-August, with scenes filmed at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden.

Filming took place in Genzano di Roma in mid-May. Filming took place in Rome for two weeks in mid-May, and one week in mid-July, with scenes being shot at the Via Cristoforo Colombo, Lungotevere, Via dei Fori Imperiali, Ponte Umberto I, Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II, and the area around the Castel Sant'Angelo and the Spanish Steps. Filming then took place in Turin between May 24 and June 6, with action sequences filmed at the Piazza Crimea and Corso Fiume, Murazzi del Po, Via Roma, and the Piazza IV Marzo.Momoa began shooting his scenes on May 16. Like previous installments, Diesel supervised writing and design of the film's action sequences; according to unnamed sources to The Hollywood Reporter, Diesel's creative control and frequent last-minute changes reflect "a process which is like a mosaic that doesn't stop moving", labelling him "demanding" and a perfectionist. On June 6, it was reported a stuntman was injured in an accident after being hit by part of a car after an explosion.  On July 22, in an interview with Deadline Hollywood while at San Diego Comic-Con, Rodriguez announced she had completed filming her scenes and said "only four or five weeks are left" in production Filming in Angelino Heights (the location of the Toretto house) faced protest from some local residents after production gave notice of the filming of a sequence which would involve "simulated emergency services activity, aerial photography, wetting down of street and atmospheric smoke". According to those residents, the protest was to raise awareness for road safety education, claiming the franchise caused their neighborhood to become a hot spot for fans to engage in street racing and other dangerous activity. Filming managed to occur following the protest on August 26, while other portions were filmed in Portugal, such as in Lisbon, Viseu, and Vila Real. In an interview with Lusa News Agency, Conceição Azevedo, the mayor of Viseu, announced filming would take place on IP5, a highway in the Vouzela municipality.  Ritchson finished filming his scenes by August 16, and hinted at flying cars in the film, stating "we're going to take it to the sky".

During filming, Sofia Noronha, a producer for Sagesse Productions (the company in charge of overseeing production of Fast X in Portugal) said a "brutal economic investment" will be made in the country by the film. Highlighting the weather, affordability through tax breaks, and flexibility of the production, Noronha argued "investments [from film] made in the country is almost double that tax incentive. The [producing] country always benefits".This was echoed during filming in Turin, with it reported the two-week schedule generated €3.8 million for the local economy, coming mainly from expenses related to location rent, hospitality, technical staff and local workforce employment, security and sanitation, and storage and unloading. It was also reported the film regularly brought troupes of close to 400 people (5 times above average for comparable films) and often collaborated with hundreds of local professionals on the research of locations and finalization of the working filming plan. In a statement, Beatrice Borgia, President of Film Commission Torino Piemonte, said "Fast X is a confirmation of the key role Turin and Piedmont has gained in filmmaking. We have proved to have all what is needed to host complex productions: skilled professionals, supportive institutions, and amazing locations".

Peter Chiang returns as the visual effects supervisor for the production, after doing so for F9 (2021), with DNEG and Industrial Light & Magic as the returning visual effects vendors. Composer Brian Tyler also returned. In a July 2022 interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Michelle Rodriguez praised the addition of Leterrier and his predominantly French-speaking creative team, labelling it "the French takeover, dude". She stated Leterrier "came with all this energy of love [from] a real fan of the franchise who really wants to take it places that it hasn't gone before. It reminds you [how] beautiful and magical filmmaking is”. Several aerial shots were filmed with first-person view (FPV) drones with an attached RED Komodo camera piloted by Johnny Schaer, similar to the filming techniques that were used for the action sequences in Michael Bay's Ambulance (2022). Schaer previously supervised the drone-led filming in Rawson Marshall Thurber's Red Notice (2021).

On February 1, the film's teaser poster was released, depicting Diesel alone in the center, bowing his head and clutching a cross between his fists on a dark to light backdrop. Writing for Collider, Safeeyah Kazi said his positioning depicts "an intense prayer" with the "small amount of light [from the cross] engulfing his fist acting as the optimism in the dark". She also said that the relative simplicity of the poster compared to the "color explosion" for F9 could indicate a grittier storyline in Fast X. Kazi wrote the film's "the end of the road begins" tagline depicted "a new level of intensity", and speculated it could refer to the end for some of the franchise's characters. In an analysis by Matt Singer of WBUF, Singer described the poster as "somber", noting it as "remarkably tense" compared to the posters for other entries in the franchise.

Fast X is scheduled to be released on May 19, 2023, in the United States. In February 2016, Diesel announced initial release dates for the ninth and tenth films, with the tenth film initially set to be released on April 2, 2021. After F9 was delayed to the tenth film's release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tenth film's release date was delayed indefinitely. In June 2021, Diesel announced a targeted release date of February 2023. That August, the film was officially announced to be released on April 7, 2023. In December, the film was pushed back to the May 2023 date.

Synopsis : 
Following the events of F9 (2021), Cipher and Dante unite in their fight against Dominic Toretto and his crew, who are assisted by Tess.

Fast X
Directed by Louis Leterrier
Written by Justin Lin, Dan Mazeau
Based on Characters by Gary Scott Thompson
Produced by Neal H. Moritz, Vin Diesel, Jeff Kirschenbaum, Joe Roth, Justin Lin, Clayton Townsend, Samantha Vincent
Starring  Vin Diesel, Jason Statham John Cena, Jason Momoa, Michelle Rodriguez, Brie Larson, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Nathalie Emmanuel, Scott Eastwood, Michael Rooker, Daniela Melchior, Alan Ritchson, Helen Mirren, Cardi B, Rita Moreno, Charlize Theron, Gal Gadot
Cinematography : Stephen F. Windon
Music by Brian Tyler
Production companies : Original Film, One Race Films, Roth/Kirschenbaum Films, Perfect Storm Entertainment
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date : May 19, 2023 (United States)