Alan Ritchson Says the Next ‘Fast and Furious’ Movie Is Real, but Here’s Why It Keeps Stalling

The ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise has spent over two decades training audiences to expect nonstop, high-octane deliveries every couple of years, but its promised finale has tested that patience like never before. Fans have been waiting since ‘Fast X’ hit theaters back in May 2023, watching the franchise cross the three-year mark without a single frame of footage from its follow-up.

That silence has only fueled endless speculation about what exactly is holding up ‘Fast Forever’, the film long positioned as the closing chapter of Dominic Toretto’s story. With a franchise this massive, built on decades of accumulated characters, storylines, and box office expectations, fans have been left wondering whether the delays signal deeper trouble behind the scenes.

Alan Ritchson, who joined the franchise as Aimes in ‘Fast X’, recently offered some clarity on exactly what is holding things up, and the answer comes down to something far more mundane than any on-screen drama. Asked directly what was going on with the franchise’s future, Ritchson explained that conversations about the next film happen constantly, but that the production is running into serious practical obstacles.

According to Ritchson, the core issue is that these films have become prohibitively expensive to make under their current approach, and the old model simply is not efficient anymore. He explained that finding a way to preserve the massive scale fans expect while also showing more financial restraint has become an incredibly difficult balance for everyone involved to figure out, in comments made during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.

That challenge extends well beyond budget concerns alone. The franchise’s ballooning ensemble, which is expected to include Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Brie Larson, and Jason Momoa, means simply coordinating schedules across that many in demand stars has become its own logistical nightmare.

Despite all of that, Ritchson remained confident that the film is genuinely happening and that it will ultimately deliver once the production clears its current hurdles. He described the situation as being at a crossroads of something difficult to work out, but insisted everyone involved is actively trying to solve it rather than letting the project quietly fade away.

The numbers explain why Universal is being so cautious this time around. The franchise peaked commercially with 2015’s ‘Furious 7’, which pulled in a staggering 1.5 billion dollars worldwide, but each subsequent entry has earned less than the one before it, with ‘Fast X’ settling at 714.4 million dollars globally.

That downward trend, combined with the sheer expense of assembling a cast this large for one final send-off, has clearly put pressure on the studio to rethink how these movies get made. Director Louis Leterrier is set to return behind the camera, working from a screenplay credited to Christina Hodson, Michael Lesslie, Oren Uziel, and Gary Scott Thompson, with a release date currently set for March 17, 2028.

That timeline means fans are still facing a lengthy wait before Dom and his family get their proper send-off, assuming the production can finally solve the scheduling and budgetary puzzle Ritchson described. Given how much history and box office weight this franchise carries, it seems unlikely Universal will walk away from finishing the story entirely.

For now, Ritchson’s comments offer the clearest picture yet of why the wait has stretched on so long, even as anticipation for the franchise’s supposed finale continues building. Whether ‘Fast Forever’ can actually deliver on that promise once production finally gets moving remains to be seen.

‘Fast Forever’ is currently scheduled for release on March 17, 2028.

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