The announcement comes after a lengthy development process that has seen the project go through multiple writers and several changes to its release plans.
According to Variety, Diesel said during the 25th anniversary screening of “The Fast and the Furious” that filming is expected to begin in December, provided he can meet a request from the studio.
Vin Diesel Says ‘Fast Forever’ Could Finally Start Filming in December
The next installment has taken an unusually long road to the screen. Development began as a sequel to “Fast X,” but the project went through multiple creative changes before becoming the standalone finale to the franchise. The production was initially expected to arrive much sooner, with earlier plans placing the film in 2025 before subsequent delays pushed it further into the future.
Now, Diesel has provided a more concrete production update. “We start shooting in December, if I can make good on the request from the studio,” the actor told Variety at the anniversary event.
The actor also addressed the amount of work that went into reaching the current version of the story. “I had to go through four sets of writers, four years of development, to get to something that I felt would be worthy of a finale,” Diesel said. The screenplay has continued to evolve throughout that period, with Michael Lesslie becoming the latest writer attached to the project in March 2026.
Diesel was even more candid about his reaction to the finished script during the anniversary screening. “When I read the script a couple of weeks ago, [I cried],” he told Variety. He later told the audience that he struggled to hold back his emotions while reading the screenplay, adding, “sometimes, even the toughest guys in the world need to cry.”
“Fast Forever” is currently scheduled for March 17, 2028, and is positioned as the eleventh and final picture in the main franchise. The series has grown far beyond its original street-racing premise since the first film arrived in 2001, evolving into an action franchise that has earned more than $7 billion worldwide.