Justin Lin Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Zack Sharf Digital News Director The official trailer for “Fast X” unveiled the first footage of Jason Momoa and Brie Larson joining the long-running action series, but it was the brutal fight scene between franchise veterans Michelle Rodriguez and Charlize Theron that packed the most punch. The duo go head-to-head in what looks like a fist fight for the ages, and Rodriguez recently told Vanity Fair they filmed it without a director. “Can I just tell you — no pun intended, but Charlize is a monster,” Rodriguez said. “We shot our [‘Fast X’] fight sequence with no director. Bro, like, hands down, drop mic, we nailed it. We were there, we don’t need [a director], let’s do this.”

Fast X” is the No. 1 movie in the world. While it’s the 10th installment in the wildly popular “Fast and Furious” franchise, the movie’s success was not a sure thing — especially since original director Justin Lin, a series mainstay, left the project shortly into production.

The 10th instalment of the “Fast and Furious” franchise was off to the races this weekend, knocking “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” out of first place and easily claiming the No. 1 spot at the box office. “Fast X” earned $67.5 million in ticket sales from 4,046 North American theatres, according to estimates from Universal Pictures on Sunday.

“Fast X,” the tenth movie in the franchise, is “the beginning of the end of the road.” And that an eleventh film, once again directed by French filmmaker Louis Leterrier (who joined the series after creative differences led to Justin Lin leaving “Fast X” mid-production), is soon on the horizon.Everybody is back for “Fast X,” from series regulars like Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewster and Sung Kang to more recent additions like John Cena, Nathalie Emmanuel and Jason Statham, to car-loving characters completely new to the franchise like Brie Larson, Alan Ritchson, Jason Momoa (stealing every scene he’s in), Daniela Melchior and, for some reason, Rita Moreno. Because when you think about the fuel-injected “Fast and Furious” franchise, you think about the 91-year-old actress who appeared in “Singin’ in the Rain” and both versions of “West Side Story.”And this cumulative, everybody’s back attitude brings to mind, of course, the Marvel Studios canon – specifically “Avengers: Infinity War,” which set the stage for the grand finale of the first era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Twenty-two years ago, the “Fast & Furious” franchise began as a sexy crime-and-cars saga set in LA. Ten movies later (not counting spinoffs), the meathead stars of these vacuous slogs look and behave like a group of retired gym teachers who’d be better off behind the wheel of a golf cart.Running time: 141 minutes. Rated PG-13 (intense sequences of violence and action, language and some suggestive material.) In theaters May 19.“The real question,” astutely asks one of the interchangeable doofuses in “Fast X,” “is how did we let this go on so long?” But let it, they did, and now we’re buckling up for another moronic “Fast” film that plods along like “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” and features increasingly fake chases.

For a multi-billion-dollar franchise that has lasted more than 20 years and spans more than 10 films, the “Fast & Furious” film series has largely been written by a relatively small group of people. Chris Morgan, most notably, single-handedly wrote the scripts for the fourth through the eighth films in the franchise.

Fast X has been released and reveals more about Jason Momoa’s new villainous character, Dante.The trailer kicks off with Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew in Vatican City as they attempt to disarm a rolling bomb set loose in the city by Dante. Flashbacks reveal how Dante got caught up with Toretto, dating back to Fast Five.Dante turns out to be the son of Herman Reyes, the lead antagonist of Fast Five. During the events of Fast Five, Toretto masterminded a heist in Rio De Janeiro to steal from Reyes, killing him.

Ahead of the release of “Fast X,” we now know who will be taking the director’s chair for the 11th and potentially final installment of the “Fast & Furious” franchise. Universal Pictures has brought back French action filmmaker Louis Leterrier to direct “Fast & Furious 11,” according to a report from Variety.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Louis Leterrier is staying in Dominic Toretto’s family. The “Transporter” helmer will serve as director of the next film in the grand finale of the “Fast and Furious” franchise. The new project will serve as a companion film to “Fast X,” the 10th title in the Vin Diesel series which opens May 19. Leterrier replaced Justin Lin as director on “Fast X” last May, a breakneck substitution that clearly resulted in something meaningful for the team – which includes producer-star Diesel and legacy cast Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson and Charlize Theron.

Naman Ramachandran International sales agency The Open Reel has unveiled the first trailer for director-producer Quentin Lee’s “Last Summer of Nathan Lee.” Inspired by a real life incident from Lee’s high school years, the film follows the titular Nathan Lee, a teenager who finds out that he has brain cancer just before he turns 18, vows to live the remains of his life with passion and refuses to die a virgin. The cast includes Harrison Xu, Matthew Mitchell Espinosa, Natasha Tina Liu, Aaron Guest and Dru Perez. The film is produced by Lee’s Margin Films, with screenwriter Dennis Escobedo and casting director Kit DeZolt also serving as producers alongside Lee.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Filmmaker siblings Anthony Russo and Joe Russo are calling their deep-dish interview series, “Pizza Film School,” back into session after a nearly three-year break. In Season 2 of the video podcast, the Russo brothers sit down with fellow directors to talk about their favorite films, discuss the craft of making movies — and chow down on a couple slices of pies from local pizzerias. Guests for the second season include Zack Snyder, Nia DaCosta, Justin Chon, R.J. Cutler, Justin Lin and Emerald Fennell. The series is produced by their production company, AGBO. Season 2 will premiered April 11 with new two-part episodes dropping weekly exclusively on AGBO’s YouTube channel.

Michelle Rodriguez and Charlize Theron are such action-movie pros that they don’t even need a director to film a fight sequence.

EXCLUSIVE: After spending the past decade plus-directing some of the biggest tentpoles in town, Justin Lin is returning to his indie roots. Sources tell Deadline he is set to direct The Last Days of John Allen Chau as his next film. Ben Ripley is penning the script, with filming to begin this spring across the globe.

J. Kim Murphy With “Fast X” only a little over three months away, Universal put the pedal to the metal for the film’s unveiling last week. The first “Fast X” trailer nabbed roughly 295 million views globally in its first 72 hours of availability, a source close to Universal confirmed to Variety. Universal drummed up anticipation for “Fast X” footage with quite the promotional runway in the days ahead. On Feb. 9, the studio hosted a trailer launch event in downtown Los Angeles, featuring appearances from franchise stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Sung Kang, as well as director Louis Leterrier. Other fan events were also held in Mexico, France and Japan.

Last April, it was revealed that Justin Lin, longtime director in the “Fast & Furious” franchise, surprisingly (and abruptly) departed his gig as filmmaker for “Fast X,” and was replaced in very short order by “Now You See Me” director Louis Leterrier. While the exact reasons for the departure are still unknown (though there has been some behind-the-scenes reporting), what we do know is that Leterrier had to quickly play catch up to get the huge blockbuster back on track.

EXCLUSIVE: NBC has given a script commitment with penalty to an untitled sci-fi medical drama from Joshua Troke (Good Sam), Extant and Reverie creator Mickey Fisher, Justin Lin’s Perfect Storm Entertainment and Universal Television, where Lin is under a deal.

Justin Lin’s production banner, Perfect Storm Entertainment has set a joint venture with (art)ificial, the art & tech studio behind the NFT sci-fi collection Galaxy Eggs, where the two companies share underlying rights to the complete Galaxy Eggs saga. That franchise includes Galaxy Eggs, Galaxy Warriors and the soon to be released Galaxy Genesis and as co-owners and co-producers of the series, Perfect Storm will be able to explore cross-platform franchising opportunities to build out the universe, pioneering a new way of creating and releasing content. Andrew Schneider will oversee the project for Perfect Storm.

As Marvel fans wait for more information about Simu Liu’s future in the MCU, they’re going to have to settle for an exciting new Prime Video series, “Seven Wonders,” starring the actor and directed by Justin Lin. Sure, there aren’t superheroes, but it still should be fun, right? READ MORE: ‘Shang-Chi’ Actor Simu Liu Joins Greta Gerwig’s Live-Action ‘Barbie’ Movie As reported by Deadline, Simu Liu is set to star in “Seven Wonders,” a new Prime Video series adapted from the novel by author Ben Mezrich.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter NBC is developing a drama series inspired by the Narratively article ““The First Family of Counterfeit Hunting” by Amy Ridout. Per the official logline, “Two brothers reunite after a long estrangement and are pulled into a special investigation surrounding closed FBI cases. Known as “Knockoffs,” these cases have been manipulated or outright fabricated to pin the crime on someone innocent and protect the real criminal who’s still out there.” Cameron Litvack is writing and executive producing. Justin Lin, Andrew Schneider, and Salvador Gatdula of Perfect Storm Entertainment will also executive produce along with Noah Rosenberg for Narratively. Universal Television will produce, with Perfect Storm currently under an overall deal at the studio.

Star Trek” sequel from its upcoming film slate. The project, produced by J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, had been dated to hit theaters on Dec. 22, 2023. The rather inevitable news comes roughly one month after director Matt Shakman exited the “Star Trek” film, which was nominally set to be the fourth cinematic tour of duty for Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Karl Urban as Bones, John Cho as Sulu and Simon Pegg as Scotty. Shakman was successfully courted by Marvel Studios to helm its “Fantastic Four” reboot, reuniting the “WandaVision” director with the studio, after “Spider-Man: No Way Home” director Jon Watts left that film in April.

Fast and Furious franchise.The Aquaman actor is set to star opposite Vin Diesel in Fast X, directed by Louis Leterrier, which will be released in 2023.“I’ve never played a character that’s, what’s the word — he’s evil and quirky and androgynous,” Momoa told Entertainment Tonight. “He’s very sadistic and fun. It’s very bizarre.”Momoa said he would be playing an antagonist in the forthcoming film, while keeping more specific details under wraps.“I haven’t played a villain in a very long time,” he added.Earlier this year, the actor described his character as “a very flamboyant bad boy” while he was still in negotiations to join the franchise.Justin Lin, who directed five films in the Fast and Furious franchise, stepped down as director of Fast X shortly after production had started earlier this year.Long-term stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges and Sung Kang are also returning for the next film.Charlize Theron, who first appeared in the The Fate of the Furious, and then returned for F9, is also expected to be back.Reviewing the last Fast & Furious film, NME said: “It all accelerates towards a genuinely thrilling finale that pivots between full-throttle action and intense sentimentality, making Fast & Furious 9 feel a bit like a bear hug from your gruff older brother after you’ve nearly chucked up on a roller coaster.“Like so many things in the F&F franchise, it shouldn’t work but somehow does.

Michelle Rodriguez is a veteran of the “Fast & Furious” franchise. She’s been playing the role of Letty Rodriguez for the past 20 years. When seasoned franchise director Justin Lin walked out of production due to a disagreement with lead star Vin Diesel, the franchise was left in a bad place.

Mark Dacascos (Hawaii Five-O) and Chelsea Muirhead (Slo Pitch) are set as series regulars on the upcoming third season of martial arts crime drama Warrior on HBO Max.

Vin Diesel is hard at work on Fast X.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNBC has ordered two seasons of “Magnum P.I.” following the drama’s cancellation at CBS in May after a four-season run.The broadcaster has ordered 20 new episodes of “Magnum P.I.,” which an option for more, and intends to break those up into Seasons 5 and 6 of the series, Variety has learned.The reboot of the beloved 1980’s action series debuted Season 4 back in October on CBS. The show is described as a modern take on the original series centering on Thomas Magnum (Jay Hernandez), a decorated former Navy SEAL who, upon returning home from Afghanistan, repurposes his military skills to become a private investigator.Along with Hernandez, the series stars Perdita Weeks as Juliet Higgins, Zachary Knighton as Orville “Rick” Wright, Stephen Hill as Theodore “TC” Calvin, Tim Kang as Det.

EXCLUSIVE: Magnum P.I. has been saved. It came down to the wire but a deal just closed for NBC to order 20 new episodes of the action drama starring Jay Hernandez following its cancellation by CBS last month, I have learned. I hear the 20 episodes will be split into two seasons, bringing the reboot’s  run to 96 episodes, with an option for more.

Elvis was never going to be understated: “It’s not a movie so much as a 159-minute trailer for a film called Elvis,” concluded Peter Bradshaw. Fast-rising Austin Butler plays Presley, with Tom Hanks as a dastardly Colonel Tom Parker.

Justin Lin recently made headlines for stepping away from “Fast X,” while already in production. While the reasons behind his unexpected departure from the “Fast & Furious” franchise have been discussed to death, the filmmaker has already lined up his next big project.

Justin Lin has found his next project.

One Punch Man.As Deadline reports, the upcoming film looks to kick off a potential franchise. A cast and release date have yet to be announced.One Punch Man follows the adventures of Saitama, a superhero who is able to defeat anyone with a single punch and seeks a worthy opponent.

exiting from “Fast X.” The filmmaker is attached to direct an adaptation of a manga called “One-Punch Man” at Sony Pictures, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap. Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner, who worked together on “Venom” and “Jumanji: The Next Level,” are writing the script for the live-action adaptation of the manga comic.

EXCLUSIVE: After exiting Fast X, it didn’t take Justin Lin long to rev up another franchise. He’s set to direct One Punch Man for Sony Pictures., Scott Rosenberg & Jeff Pinkner, who teamed on Jumanji: The Next Level, and Venom, are set to write the live-action film adaptation of worldwide hit manga series. Sony Pictures acquired the film rights from Shueisha.

Fast X has only gone and signed up the legend that is Rita Moreno for a role. One of the last remaining faces from Hollywood's Golden Age, the Puerto Rican starred in iconic films like the original West Side Story (as well as Steven Spielberg's remake), The King and I and Singin' in the Rain.

Instagram Tuesday, showing that Moreno is on set now for the film currently in production. “It’s been my dream forever to work with Rita Moreno, and the fact that she’s here playing my grandmother makes my soul smile,” Diesel said in the video.“I think my old age was waiting for you to ask me, isn’t that nice, and I’m here, the answer is yes, I’ll do it, and not only I’ll do it, I am tickled,” she responded. “Fast X” will open in theaters May 19, 2023.

The next “Fast and Furious” movie is officially in production, and Vin Diesel is excited.

Taking a break from super heroic roles for a moment, actor Jason Momoa (“Dune,” “Aquaman”) is playing a villain in Universal’s “Fast X,” which is currently shooting now that director Louis Leterrier (“The Transporter”) has replaced Justin Lin. He’s continuing his streak of action projects that will allow him to dip his toes into the world of comedy as well.