Let’s see… We got four flat tires, two feuding stars, the fan belt’s shot, an empty Nos tank, a broken Johnson rod, and a beleaguered multi-billion-dollar franchise that won’t turn over. All told, with parts and labor, repairing the Fast and Furious saga will cost a fortune, but Vin Diesel is willing to get out and push. On Instagram, Diesel announced that the long-overdue Fast XI will hit theaters on March 17, 2028. The follow-up to 2023’s Fast X, the film formerly known as Fast X Part 2, was announced alongside the last movie, with the intention that it would serve as a finale. Should the sequel ever find its way off the lot, Fast X director Louis Leterrier will helm the picture with Diesel back in the driver’s seat.
“No one said the road would be easy… but it’s ours,” he wrote as the caption to a still from The Fast And The Furious featuring Diesel and late actor Paul Walker. “One that has defined us and become our legacy… And a legacy… lasts Forever. March 17th 2028! FAST FOREVER
The fate of the Furious has been in flux ever since director Justin Lin decided life was too short to keep making Vin Diesel movies and exited Fast X a week into production. When that movie finally hit theaters in 2023, it continued the franchise’s downward trajectory, both critically and at the box office. The Fast movies have been steadily trending downward since 2015’s Furious 7, with Fast X hitting the lowest point since 2011’s Fast Five, despite boasting the series’ highest budget. Still, the series has grossed more than $7 billion globally, and Fast X‘s $714 million is nothing to sneeze at, so obviously Diesel and Universal would like to get a movie in theaters before Diesel’s kids take his license away.
As delays mounted, Diesel tried to maintain excitement for the finale. Last year, he promised the film would return the series to “the car culture, to the street racing,” while also demanding the return of Paul Walker’s character, Brian. We imagine that, in Vin’s hands, it will be quite respectful.