20 Upcoming Movies That Just Made Incredibly Smart Decisions

The most recent Fast and the Furious movie, Fast X, was basically all of the series' worst instincts dialled up to 11, with a scrawled-on-a-napkin script and wildly overstuffed cast undercutting set-pieces that began to feel disappointingly ordinary.

It was also a ridiculously expensive monument to Hollywood excess, with an eye-wateringly massive budget of $340 million, ensuring it didn't stand a chance of turning a profit theatrically.

However, Fast X's commercial underperformance - being the lowest-grossing since 2011's franchise-rejuvenating Fast Five - has reportedly prompted something of a pivot for the series' apparently final mainline entry, Fast 11.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Universal won't greenlight the sequel until it can be produced for a budget of no more than $200 million - a whole $140 million less than the last film.

And honestly, some belt-tightening and fat-trimming for a franchise that's become a bloated, unwieldy shadow of its former self is no bad thing. 

Given that Vin Diesel has already claimed that Fast 11 will be a more grounded film centered around street racing in Los Angeles, it should absolutely be possible to deliver that for $200 million or less.

For a franchise whose origins seem almost hilariously quaint by today's standards, returning to something more straightforward for its big farewell seems totally apt.