Justin Lin sure loves him some fast vehicles. The director was at the helm of four Fast & Furious movies, really taking that franchise from a simple street racer into the box office behemoth it is now. While there's still some chance he returns to that, he also got into the captain's chair for Star Trek Beyond. Now he finds himself getting behind the wheel once more, only this time it's for the long-developing Hot Wheels movie.
THR says Lin will produce and direct the movie based on the wildly popular Mattel toy line. The project has sped from one studio to the other over the course of a decade, most recently landing under the Legendary Pictures banner. At one point McG was attached to direct only to have that version fall through. Legendary then brought on stunt coordinator Simon Crane only to have that one fail to get off the blocks.
For obvious reasons this makes a lot of sense. Lin helped develop the characters and expand on the mythology of the Fast & Furious series, and Hot Wheels is a toy line that doesn't have either of those things. So now he can help do that from the ground up once a writer is hired. Lin should also have time to complete his other upcoming projects, like Space Jam 2 and a SWAT television series.
Oh yeah, the SWAT thing is new. Lin and Shawn Ryan (The Shield) are developing a reboot of the 1970s TV series for CBS, the home of other such reboots such as Hawaii Five-O and the new MacGyver. The original series ran for two seasons and centered on a SWAT unit based out of California. It's probably best remembered for its iconic theme music because, honestly, it was the only thing worth remembering. That said, it was also turned into a 2003 movie starring Colin Farrell, Samuel L. Jackson, and Lin's 'Furious' pal, Michelle Rodriguez. According to TV Line this modern update will be another crime procedural (Because the network needs more of those!) centering on a black SWAT lieutenant with divided loyalties.
So there ya go. Lin has filled his dance card with nothing but nostalgia projects. While Hot Wheels will probably end up looking more like Need for Speed than Fast & Furious, the SWAT project could be interesting if Ryan brings some of the moral ambiguity he brought to The Shield.
