‘Fast & Furious’ Director Justin Lin Signs Film-TV Production Deals With Universal

Dave McNary
·3 min read

Justin Lin, director of five of the “Fast & Furious” movies, has signed multi-year production deals with Universal Pictures and Universal Studio Group for feature films and television through his Perfect Storm Entertainment.

“Universal gave me my shot when they offered me the ‘Fast’ franchise a decade and a half ago,” Lin said. “Over the course of these years together, we’ve become a family and I’m thrilled to be coming home. While our relationship started with Fast, we have a lot more stories we want to share with audiences around the world. We love working with the Universal Pictures and Studio Group teams and know that together we’ll continue to put forward the compelling, high caliber storytelling our audiences want.”

The announcement was made Thursday by Peter Cramer, president of Universal Pictures, and Pearlena Igbokwe, president of Universal Television.

Under the new deal on the film side, Lin and PSE will have a first-look production agreement with the studio, which kicks off with Lin’s “F9,” the ninth chapter in the “Fast & Furious” saga that has endured for almost two decades and has earned nearly $6 billion globally. On the TV side, the deal will cover Lin and PSE’s television activities for both internal and external networks, including NBCUniversal’s new streaming service, Peacock.

“Justin has been an integral part of the Universal family for 15 years, and his creative vision helped propel the Fast & Furious series into one of the studio’s biggest and most beloved global franchises,” said Cramer. “He’s raised the bar again with his incredible work on the upcoming F9, and we are thrilled to welcome him and his Perfect Storm team back to Universal. We know that Perfect Storm will be one of our key suppliers of high-quality, event films for global audiences in the years to come.”

Lin directed Universal Pictures’ “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” “Fast & Furious,” “Fast Five,” “Fast and Furious 6” and “Star Trek: Beyond,” the final film in the modern Star Trek trilogy. On the TV side, PSE and Lin produced the series’ “Scorpion,” “S.W.A.T.” and “Magnum P.I.” for CBS and Universal Television, and “Warrior” for Cinemax.

“When it comes to entertaining global, multi-cultural audiences, Justin Lin is a master craftsman,” said Igbokwe. “He is an imaginative storyteller who never fails to delight audiences and we’re excited he is hanging his shingle at Universal Television.”

Lin is represented by CAA, and Sloane, Offer, Weber, Dern.

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