I Thought The Final Fast And Furious Movie Was Well On It’s Way, But Ludacris’ Update Has Me Shook
Since The Fast and the Furious first hit the scene in 2001, we’ve come to expect a new movie from the timeline-jumping franchise pretty consistently every couple of years. However, it’s been three years since the last movie, Fast X was released and we won’t see another one until 2028! As the Fast & Furious “grand finale” revs up, Ludacris just gave an update on Fast Forever that I was not expecting to hear.
The rapper and the movie series regular Ludacris was asked on the red carpet for the 2026 American Music Awards about the upcoming Fast and Furious movie. Here’s what he had to say:
I can tell you this: Universal put in on the calendar for March 2028, that’s all I know so far. Have we started shooting yet? No. So, we shall see.
While Ludacris also said he’s “sworn to secrecy,” he looked pretty matter of fact while speaking to Variety. So it seems like we can trust his word on the matter.
Why Ludacris’ Update Confuses Me
Back in 2023, Vin Diesel announced that the eleventh Fast & Furious movie would come out in 2025. Sure, the SAG-AFTRA strikes ended up delaying the movie not long after his comments, but then it was delayed until 2026 before being pushed back to 2027 before finally getting its current 2028 release date in January of this year.
I thought something might have been filmed in all that time, but according to Ludacris, it’s still early days for the sequel. He also shared this:
I have not seen a script. I’m being honest with you. I’m being real… Hopefully, it will happen. We’d have to be shooting by the end of this year if it was gonna happen.
I’m so confused… What’s been going on for the past four years, then? On one hand, I know that Vin Diesel has expressed there being a “weight” to ending the series, but I’m pretty surprised about the lack of work that’s reportedly been done on the movie. Ludacris specifically saying “hopefully” in association with the movie is also wild given Fast Forever has been so hyped by Vin Diesel in recent years.
Now, there was a rumor this past October from the Wall Street Journal that a script had yet to be locked in for the movie and studio executives were working with the filmmakers to make the upcoming movie more affordable than before – especially after Fast X made $705 million globally against an alleged production budget of $340 million.
Vin Diesel has previously teased that he’s aiming to shoot Fast Forever in Los Angeles in order to bring the movie back to its roots. Ludacris is certainly right that the movie will have to start shooting this year if it’s going to make its March 17, 2028 release date. Given all the delays, I’ll be pumping my brakes on anticipating the film until we get some concrete details! But hey, maybe they’re hard at work to make sure it’s the best Fast movie it can be.
