Summary
- The delay in Fast & Furious 11’s release date is actually beneficial for the franchise, giving it the time it needs to succeed.
- The SAG-AFTRA strikes of 2023 caused a delay in filming, pushing back Fast & Furious 11’s release date, but could lead to a better final product.
- A longer gap between releases can build anticipation for Fast & Furious 11, making the grand finale even more exciting for fans.
Director Louis Leterrier recently announced that Fast & Furious 11’s release date would be delayed another year, and though this may seem like a major setback, it is actually the exact thing that the action franchise needs. Fast & Furious 11 is the eleventh and final installment in the long-running action Fast & Furious franchise, which focuses on street racing, criminal heists, and family. The end of the Fast & Furious franchise has been a long time coming, so its delay may seem like a bad thing. However, putting off the final movie could actually benefit the series immensely.
In an interview with Collider, Fast & Furious 11 director Louis Leterrier revealed that the movie would no longer be released on April 4, 2025, but instead, would premiere some time during the summer of 2026. He also offered a start date for when Fast & Furious 11 would begin filming. Leterrier told Collider, “It’s happening. It’s happening very, very soon. I’m able to shoot a little horror movie this summer. I’m finishing my horror movie on September 15th, and I start Fast on September 16th.” However, the question remains: why is the highly awaited finale taking so long to happen?
Source
Only Two Fast and Furious Movies Have Truly Delivered On The Franchise’s Original Premise
Fast & Furious is often criticized for having abandoned its original premise, but only two movies in the Fast Saga have truly lived up to its name.
Why Fast & Furious 11 Is Getting Delayed
Fast & Furious 11 ran out of time
Although Fast & Furious 11 was originally set to premiere on April 4, 2025, the film’s release date has been pushed back, most likely because they have not started filming yet, leaving them with little time to successfully reach that deadline. At this point, if they started filming the movie now, they would have less than a year to film, edit, and promote the movie which, considering the type of action movie this is, and the high expectations attached to it, is simply not enough time. However, with the new 2026 release date, Fast & Furious 11 has plenty of time.
The biggest culprit for Fast & Furious 11’s filming delay is the SAG-AFTRA strikes that occurred from July to November 2023. Over the course of 118 days, the majority of Hollywood’s writers and actors stopped working in order to gain better rights for themselves. Although this strike was incredibly valuable for the entertainment industry, it forced countless movies and TV shows to pushed back by entire years.
Projects like
Fast & Furious 11
missed their initial start time, and therefore, face a delayed release date. However, this situation may not be as bad as many audiences believe it to be.
A Bigger Release Gap Is Good For Fast & Furious 11 After Recent Struggles
The delay increases anticipation
The fact that Fast & Furious 11 has been delayed until 2026 may actually be a good thing for the franchise. Since the Fast & Furious movies began in 2009, there has been a new movie released every two years. That is an impressive amount of content, but also, it has allowed audiences to expect a new movie, or worse, lose excitement for a new movie. Therefore, by forcing audiences to wait two more years, Fast & Furious 11 has the chance to really build up anticipation for this movie, which needs hype surrounding it anyway, since it is the grand finale.
Although Fast and Furious 11 is the last main franchise film, new spinoffs are still on the horizon for Fast and Furious.
Fast and Furious 11
- Director
- Louis Leterrier
- Release Date
- April 4, 2025
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures
- Writers
- Christina Hodson , Oren Uziel