Vin Diesel says the screenplay for Fast Forever — the next film in the Fast & Furious franchise — is the best script he has read in decades. The star shared the praise in an Instagram reel on 1 August 2026, posted alongside a trailer for the upcoming theatrical re-release of the original The Fast and the Furious (Variety).

Diesel did not stop at the superlative. He told followers they would "thank God" they had seen the first film in cinemas this summer, teasing a narrative tie between the 2001 original and the new instalment. The original The Fast and the Furious, which starred Diesel alongside Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Rick Yune and Chad Lindberg, is being re-released in theatres on 21 August 2025 for its 25th anniversary. It grossed $207 million worldwide in its original run, not adjusted for inflation (Variety).

The screenwriter earning Diesel's praise is Michael Lesslie, who was announced as the Fast Forever writer in March 2026. Sources told Variety that Lesslie rewrote a script previously penned by Aaron Rabin and Zach Dean. Lesslie's credits include The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Justin Kurzel's Macbeth, Assassin's Creed, Now You See Me: Now You Don't, and a Hamlet adaptation starring Riz Ahmed. He also wrote the screenplay for Sunrise on the Reaping, due in theatres on 20 November, and executive produced The Rescue and Thirteen Lives (Variety).

Louis Leterrier, whose directing credits include The Transporter and The Incredible Hulk, will direct. Fast Forever is set for release on 17 March 2028.

The film follows Fast X, which opened in May 2023 and grossed $704 million worldwide. Fast X ended on a cliffhanger and included two post-credit scenes teasing the returns of Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson, leaving several threads for Fast Forever to pick up (Variety).

For fans, the excitement is double-edged. The anniversary re-release offers a rare chance to see the franchise's starting point on the big screen again, while Diesel's tease that Fast Forever will connect back to that original film hints that the franchise may be circling its roots as it approaches its endgame. A 2028 release date means the wait is long, but the 25th-anniversary re-release is only weeks away.