Universal recognizes that Vin Diesel’s Fast franchise is bleeding money without considerable returns

Vin Diesel wants to create the biggest Fast & Furious project in his follow-up to 2023’s Fast X. The tenth film in the franchise saw many of the star cast from over the years return to their roles, blowing up the budget beyond what the producers had anticipated. Diesel is reportedly making a similar ask, $250 million, from the studio for Fast 11, but they are not ready to give it to the actor.

Vin Diesel in Fast X
The global distribution rights for Fast & Furious movies are handled by Universal Pictures. Interestingly, the studio emerged as the most successful Hollywood studio at the global, North American, and international box office in 2023.

Vin Diesel’s Fast 11 Budget Gets Out Of Hand As Studio Begs For Few Sacrifices

Universal reportedly doesn’t want Vin Diesel to cast pricey actors like John Cena
According to The Wrap, Vin Diesel‘s Fast X budget was $340 million, almost a 70% increase from F9‘s $200 million budget. However, the films have not produced a considerable return to justify the money invested in making them. Fast X only made $714.6 million at the worldwide box office at the end of its theatrical run (via Box Office Mojo).

Universal Studios, who climbed back to Hollywood’s top-grossing production house status, had made some worthy investments in 2023, including The Super Mario Bros. and Oppenheimer. The studio may have obviously been disappointed at Fast X‘s performance. According to new reports, the studio wants Diesel to bring down the budget of Fast 11, for which he reportedly requested $250 million.

An insider has opened up about this BTS drama on the Fast 11 set to the National Inquirer (via RadarOnline). The source shared, “Universal execs are begging Vin to figure out how to make this movie substantially cheaper.” For Diesel, this would be a difficult task to pull off after the star promised the biggest Fast & Furious movie to his social media fans. While the insider shared that Diesel’s marketing strategy was commendable, he was alienating the Universal execs with his moves.

While the XXX star badly wants to prove to the studio that he can pull it off with his next film, they have reportedly asked him to make some sacrifices. Universal reportedly didn’t want some of the pricey actors in the film and asked Diesel to drop them from the film. These “pricey” stars include John Cena, who plays Dom’s brother, and Jason Statham, who plays Deckard Shaw.

If these reports turn out to be true, Vin Diesel will surely fight for the characters to be included in the film and may even gather the fans to appeal to the studio.

How Much Were The Cast Salaries In Vin Diesel’s Fast X?

Jason Statham collected the second-highest paycheck in Fast X
While Vin Diesel took home $20 million for the film, the second biggest sum in the film went to Jason Statham. He received a paycheck of $15 million, which is three times the salary of the villain of the film, Jason Momoa. Michelle Rodriguez was paid an amount of $2.5 million, while a million each was paid to John Cena, Brie Larson, and Tyrese Gibson. Ludacris was reportedly the least paid among the cast with a paycheck of $600,000 (via Showbiz Gallore).
All the other cast members received somewhere between $600,000 and $20 million. While Universal is worried about the budget of the film, Vin Diesel took to Instagram to thank the fans of the franchise for their support throughout the years. Diesel wrote on his Instagram:
“While everyone was heading into the weekend amped and excited, I thought of you all… reminded of the countless moments when your enthusiasm and passion became the driving force behind our creative journey. […] Thank you for being the backbone of this global saga that because of you, transcends the screen. This grand finale is not just an ending; it’s a celebration of the incredible family we’ve built together. Hope to make you proud!”
The sequel is reportedly in development and is scheduled to be released in theaters on April 4, 2025. All other movies in the Fast & Furious Saga are now available for rent on AppleTV.