Fast & Furious franchise director Justin Lin has announced that he will no longer be directing the upcoming tenth installation, Fast X, which began principal photography last week. The blockbuster filmmaker, who has co-written the script for the action film with Dan Mazeau, will however continue to remain associated with the venture as a producer. Announcing the news with a statement posted on social media, Lin said, "With the support of Universal, I have made the difficult decision to step back as director of Fast X, while remaining with the project as a producer." He continued, "Over 10 years and five films, we have been able to shoot the best actors, the best stunts, and the best damn car chases." Lin concluded saying, "On a personal note, as the child of Asian immigrants, I am proud of helping to build the most diverse franchise in movie history. I will forever be grateful to the amazing cast, crew and studio for their support, and for welcoming me into the FAST family." 

Lin has directed five Fast & Furious films in the franchise to date starting with The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), which he followed up with Fast & Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013) and the most recent installment F9 (2021). The films directed by Lin have grossed more than $1.9 billion at the global box office, with the filmmaker towards the end of the first week of the filming of Fast X appearing in a video posted by franchise star Vin Diesel, who said the film was like "the beginning of an epic ending." The tenth installment of Fast & Furious began rolling on April 20 and will see Diesel returning to share screen space with Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, and Charlize Theron, with Jason Momoa, Brie Larson, Daniela Melchior, and Michael Rooker forming the new cast members. According to reports, production on the main unit of Fast X is currently put on hold as Universal is looking to bring aboard a replacement director, with the second unit moving forward with the filming. Fast X is planned to open in theatres worldwide on May 19, 2023.