The wait for the final Fast & Furious movie, Fast Forever, has been agonising for fans of the long-running franchise. After burying the hatchet with Vin Diesel, we know that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will make his Fast return, but Fast X's big cliffhanger ending remains unresolved.
Well, the movie is now one step closer to becoming a reality as Michael Lesslie has signed up as its writer. Diesel broke the news on Instagram with a lengthy post that was accompanied by a photo of a recent meeting with the Now You See Me: Now You Don't scribe.
"25 years. Eight directors. Countless writers, crew members, performers, each one giving something real to a saga that has outlasted trends, cynics, and time itself," Diesel wrote. "That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because people show up and pour themselves into something bigger than any one individual."
"There is a particular weight that comes with delivering a finale. A responsibility you feel in your chest, to everyone who gave something to get here, to the audience that stayed. You don’t take that lightly. You take it as fuel. And when you find out you’re going back to Los Angeles... back to the streets where it all began, something clicks into place."
"The city that made the first film feel alive, still here, still holding. Coming home to close it out right," the actor continued. "That’s not logistics. That’s a gift."
According to Variety (via ActioNewz.com), Lesslie is rewriting a script previously written by Aaron Rabin and Zach Dean. He's best known for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, and was enlisted to write the upcoming Sunrise on the Reaping.
While it's been reported that he's working on the upcoming X-Men reboot for Marvel Studios, this latest update states that he has "also been in talks" to work on the movie. That seems to imply something has changed since Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier came on board to helm.
This could be a poor choice of wording on the trade's part, or an indication that the X-Men movie isn't quite as far along as we thought.
Over 25 years, the Fast & Furious movies have grossed more than $7.3 billion, spawning theme park rides and a series of films that people either love or love to hate. 2015's Furious 7 remains the highest-grossing instalment with $1.5 billion, and there was some disappointment when Fast X made only $704 million.
Still, expectations are high for Fast Forever, and it seems likely that the property will eventually be rebooted after this upcoming finale bids farewell to Dom and the crew.
Fast Forever is set to be released in theaters on March 17, 2028.