Fast & Furious 11 Hits Three Roadblocks — Will Dwayne Johnson’s Return Be Pushed to 2027?
Fast and Furious hit pause in 2023 with Fast X’s cliffhanger, and fans have been revving for answers ever since — but fresh reporting from The Wall Street Journal raises new questions about when, and how, the franchise will roar back.
If you were hoping to slam the NOS on Fast & Furious 11, pump the brakes. The Wall Street Journal says the next mainline Fast movie is drifting further down the calendar, and the reasons are very not-cinematic: money, script, and where/how to shoot it.
Where things actually stand
Fast X dropped in 2023 with a cliffhanger that basically screamed 'see you soon.' Vin Diesel publicly floated a first-half-of-2025 release for the follow-up, then that slipped to 2026. Now, per WSJ, the target has quietly slid again to 2027. There is still no official release date from Universal, and here is the part fans will not love: no stage of production has started.
Another eyebrow-raiser: most of the cast reportedly has not even been contacted yet about coming back. That does not mean they will not be invited; it does mean the machine is not rolling.
The big holdups
- Budget: Universal wants to cap Fast 11 around $200 million after Fast X cost roughly $340 million and brought in about $714 million worldwide (via The Numbers) — a thin return for a tentpole.
- Script: There still is not a locked story, and even Jason Momoa (who played villain Dante Reyes) has been waiting on a script to read.
- Setting/theme: Vin Diesel wants a throwback to the franchise’s street-racing roots in Los Angeles, but shooting in California is expensive — not exactly ideal when the studio is tightening the purse strings.
Why the money is the money
Fast X’s price tag swelled thanks to pandemic-era complications, the Writers' Guild strike, and other production turbulence. After spending that kind of cash, Universal expected a bigger margin than what it got. Hence the new marching orders reported by WSJ: keep Fast 11 near $200 million. For a franchise that loves globetrotting stunts and A-list ensembles, that cap is the inside-baseball detail that explains everything else.
About that script
This is the real speed bump. No finished script means nobody can schedule, budget, or book locations. Momoa is reportedly still waiting to get pages, and Diesel has made it clear he wants the next movie to steer back to the day-one vibe: street racing, LA asphalt, less spy-fi. That creative pivot collides with the budget reality, because Los Angeles is great for nostalgia and brutal for labor costs.
Cast and production check-in
The reports floating around even frame this as a Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson-led chapter. That is… optimistic. Johnson did pop up in the Fast X tag, so fans naturally expect him in the mix, but this is still a Diesel-fronted ensemble. And again, with outreach to returning stars reportedly not underway, everybody is in a holding pattern until the script and budget line up.
Quick Fast X refresh (context matters)
Fast X (2023) was directed by Louis Leterrier and starred Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, and Jason Momoa. On Rotten Tomatoes, it sits at 56% from critics and 84% from audiences. It is currently streaming on Starz in the US.
Bottom line: without a script, with a tighter budget, and with a pricey LA pivot on the wishlist, do not expect Fast & Furious 11 to hit the gas before 2027. I know — this franchise loves a miracle comeback — but for now, the car is idling.