Vin Diesel is getting ready for the next Fast & Furious installment and issuing demands for the same $250 million budget he had last time around — but movie bosses aren’t caving this time and telling him to stop blowing cash, sources exclusively tell In Touch.
In February, the 56-year-old actor told fans that the “grand finale” will be “a celebration of the incredible family we’ve built together,” adding: “Hope to make you proud.” But that may be easier said than done.
“Vin isn’t handling the new reality of moviemaking in 2024 as well as he could,” says a source. “The studio wants him to make the next movie, the purported finale, a lot cheaper than the $250 million that was spent on Fast X to increasingly diminishing returns. That movie cost way too much, and so did the ninth movie, 2021’s pandemic-era F9.”
Universal Pictures, the studio behind the popular franchise, is “just begging Vin to get creative and figure out how to make this movie substantially cheaper,” the source reveals, adding “everybody gets that except Vin.”
According to the insider, “Vin still, relentlessly, wants to make the biggest Fast movie ever and he’s taking his case to the fans with these social media updates he’s doing. It’s a clever strategy, but is it a wise one?”
In his recent social media post, Vin said that the fans’ “enthusiasm and passion became the driving force behind our creative journey,” adding: “Your commitment to our saga has had a unique impact on its success and evolution… as my youngest daughter would say, it’s profound. Thank you for being the backbone of this global saga that because of you, transcends the screen.”
But for the upcoming film, the source says, “Universal wants Vin to cut the pricey guest stars and make a much more pared-down thriller along the lines of the 2009 soft reboot Fast & Furious,” the fourth film in the series and one of the cheapest.
Still, the insider explains, “Jason Momoa has to come back because of the cliffhanger ending of Fast X and regular series guest star Charlize Theron will probably return just because she has an authentic, super-close personal relationship with Universal studio boss Donna Langley, but the avalanche of other guest stars — from Jason Statham to Brie Larson to John Cena to Kurt Russell — don’t all need on-camera goodbyes and respective multimillion-dollar paydays.”
“Universal is pleading with Vin to just tell a solid, contained story that puts a cap on this saga, but right now Vin is still speeding toward making another giant extravaganza with a cast of thousands, and he needs his fans to support it,” the insider says.
The Fast drama needs to be resolved “by May if they want their movie out next summer,” adds the source. “Usually, the studio wins because they’re the ones writing the checks but Vin has direct communication with the fans and that’s his secret weapon.”
Says the insider, “It’s turning into the biggest fight of his career, but he’s totally convinced he’ll win and be proven right.”
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