'The Incredible Hulk' & 'Transporter' director Louis Leterrier expected to take wheel for 'Fast X'

The tenth Fast & Furious movie seems to have found itself a new designated driver to safely transport the long-running series across the cinematic finish line. Variety reports that Louis Leterrier is expected to direct the upcoming, high-octane chapter following the recent exit of Justin Lin, who remains on board as a producer.

Leterrier knows his way around crowd-pleasing summer blockbusters, having directed The Incredible Hulk (2008), Clash of the Titans (2010), Now You See Me (2013) and the first two Transporter movies (which certainly seem like a nice action car movie primer fir the Fast Saga). The filmmaker's resume also includes The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Netflix's acclaimed prequel companion to the Jim Henson dark fantasy classic. Right now, it's unclear if Leterrier is attached to helm both parts of the Fast Saga's two-part finale, though it stands to reason the entries could be a package deal, given the original plan was to shoot them back-to-back.

Nothing is known about the plot for the penultimate chapter, other than the fact that it'll feature a trio of Fast & Furious franchise newcomers: Brie Larson (Captain Marvel), Daniel Melchior (The Suicide Squad) and Jason Momoa (Aquaman). Momoa is confirmed to be playing the central antagonist.  “I get to play the bad guy, which I haven’t gotten to do for a while,” the actor teased in March shortly after the news of his casting first broke online. "I’m gonna [be] the bad boy — the very flamboyant bad boy."

Vin Diesel (Dominic Torretto), Tyrese Gibson (Roman Pearce), Ludacris (Tej Parker), Michelle Rodriguez (Letty Ortiz), Nathalie Emmanuel (Ramsey), Sung Kang (Han Lue), Charlize Theron (Cipher), Jordana Brewster (Mia Torretto), and John Cena (Jakob Torretto) are also on the fast-paced call sheet, ready to put the pedal to the metal as their iconic characters from previous adventures.

Lin, who oversaw five Fast & Furious titles since 2006's Tokyo Drift, bowed out of the project a week into the U.K.-based production, but is staying on to produce the film.

“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," the filmmaker, who co-wrote Fast X's screenplay with Dan Mazeau, said in a statement. "Over 10 years and five films, we have been able to shoot the best actors, the best stunts, and the best damn car chases. 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."

Fast X is still on track for a wide theatrical bow on May 19, 2023.