The email arrived on a Tuesday: “Fast Forever greenlit; March 2028 release.” A collective groan rippled across the office—another five years? It felt less like a sprint and more like an endurance test for fans.
The final Fast and Furious movie is not racing to theaters, but at least now we know it’s coming. Universal just announced that the 11th movie in the franchise, titled Fast Forever, will be in theaters on March 17, 2028. It’ll be five years between this title and the previous iteration, Fast X.
The press release says nothing more beyond that, like which stars are returning or who is directing, writing, or anything. But the assumption is that Louis Leterrier, who completed Fast X when Justin Lin left the project, will return to finish the story, and all the main players—Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese, Ludacris, and even Dwayne Johnson and Gal Gadot—will be returning.
Late last year, Diesel went to an event and announced that the 11th film (or 12th if you count Hobbs and Shaw) would be coming in 2027. However, there had been no updates since then, and, clearly, for a movie of this size and scope to be ready in a year, the ball would have to be rolling by now for that to happen. Hence the year delay.
Why that delay? Well, how much time do you have? Reports of issues during the production of Fast X have been ongoing. The fact that the film didn’t live up to expectations, either from fans or at the box office, almost certainly made everyone involved step back and at the next installment. Fast and Furious movies are expensive, and if you’re going to make one, it had better make a lot of money. Fast X didn’t.
As for what could happen in the film, that’s the other issue. The previous one left us with at least four cliffhangers. Diesel’s character, Dom, was at the bottom of a collapsing dam with his son. Several of his friends had just been in a plane crash. The Rock’s character, Hobbs, had apparently returned, as had Gal Gadot’s character, Gisele.
How all those things are going to come together to wrap up the story, while also bringing back Paul Walker’s character in some way, and be more about Los Angeles-based street racing (as Diesel has teased), seems damn near impossible. But it will have taken five years for the team to figure it out.
Diesel made the news official on his Instagram.
The Long Road to Fast Forever
I remember the first movie—raw, visceral, about street cred and tricked-out Hondas. Now? Space missions and global conspiracies. The franchise, much like Dom’s collection of vintage muscle cars, has undergone a serious overhaul.
News of the March 17, 2028, release date for Fast Forever (the eleventh installment) landed with a thud heard ’round the internet. A five-year gap since Fast X feels like an eternity in Hollywood years. Consider this: a whole new generation of moviegoers will barely remember the last time they saw Vin Diesel behind the wheel.
The initial announcement, sparse as it was, leaves much to the imagination. Beyond the title and release date, Universal is keeping everything under wraps. Will Louis Leterrier return after stepping in for Justin Lin on Fast X? The smart money says yes. And what about the cast?
Will Dwayne Johnson be in Fast 11?
The expectation is that the core crew—Diesel, Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris—will be back. Even whispers of Dwayne Johnson and Gal Gadot reprising their roles continue to circulate. This cast is a multi-million dollar symphony, and you can be certain Universal wants to bring it home strong.
The Delay: More Than Just a Pit Stop
Last year, Vin Diesel himself suggested a 2027 release. That timeline, clearly, has gone out the window. What happened?
The rumor mill has been churning since Fast X hit (or, perhaps, limped) into theaters. Production woes, creative differences, and a lukewarm reception (by Fast & Furious standards, anyway) all point to a franchise at a crossroads. These movies are not cheap; they are colossal undertakings demanding serious return. To put it bluntly, Fast X underperformed, and in Hollywood, underperformance equals re-evaluation.
If Fast X was a tricky corner, Fast Forever needs to be a clean exit.
How will they bring back Paul Walker?
This is the question that hangs over every new installment. The digital recreation of Brian O’Conner in *Furious 7* was emotional, but also opened a Pandora’s Box. Can they do it again tastefully? And should they?
Loose Ends and Impossible Missions
Let’s not forget the tangled web of storylines Fast X left us with: Dom at the bottom of a dam, a plane crash, the surprise returns of Hobbs and Gisele. Wrapping all of that up, while honoring Paul Walker’s legacy and steering back to the franchise’s street racing roots (as Diesel has hinted), feels like trying to fit a V12 engine into a Prius.
The writers have a Herculean task ahead of them. They need to deliver a satisfying conclusion, silence the critics, and send the franchise off with a bang. No pressure.
Fast Forever has the opportunity to be more than just another sequel; it’s a chance to redefine legacy. Will it stick the landing, or fade into the rearview mirror?