While many might not recall it, given Vin Diesel's later career trajectory, he began his journey in Hollywood with a promising start behind the camera. In 1994, he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the short film Multi-Facial, exploring the challenges of a biracial actor in the United States. He replicated this formula for his first feature, Strays, in 1997, where he portrayed a troubled drug dealer.

This early work was compelling enough to catch the eye of Steven Spielberg, who cast him in his breakout Hollywood role in 1998's Saving Private Ryan. Coupled with his voice work as the robot in 1999's The Iron Giant and the cult hit Pitch Black in 2000, Diesel's initial career seemed set for gold. However, his subsequent filmography, with rare exceptions like Sidney Lumet's Find Me Guilty, has often been criticized.

As the Fast & Furious saga reportedly gears up for its conclusion, at least in theory, the actor and producer is undoubtedly contemplating his next career move. This might explain the rather audacious idea now circulating: could he direct the next installment?

Fast & Curious

This tidbit is far from groundbreaking news, but it's too juicy to ignore. The speculation stems from a recent Instagram post by Vin Diesel, featuring a black-and-white image of a car accompanied by a cryptic caption: "Director… Hmmm…"

Why is this noteworthy? For starters, Fast & Furious 11 (also known as Fast Forever) has a release date (March 2028) but no official director. Louis Leterrier, who stepped in to salvage Fast X after Justin Lin's abrupt departure, is theoretically set to return. However, Leterrier has recently indicated that the project isn't among his immediate priorities.

It's worth noting that Diesel has spoken for years about returning to directing. Beyond Multi-Facial and Strays, his only other directorial credit is the 2009 short film Los Bandoleros, a Fast & Furious prequel he also wrote, featuring himself, Michelle Rodriguez, and Sung Kang, which ended up as a Blu-ray extra.

Diesel has even claimed that his return to directing is highly anticipated. In a 2020 interview with The National, he recounted a conversation with Steven Spielberg:

"Speaking of Steven Spielberg, I recently saw him and he said to me, ‘When I wrote that role for you in Saving Private Ryan, I was obviously hiring the actor, but secretly I was championing the director in you, and you haven’t directed enough. That’s a crime of cinema and you have to get back in the director’s chair.’ I haven’t directed enough."

It's debatable whether Spielberg envisioned Diesel directing a Fast & Furious film. Still, caution is advised: Vin Diesel's social media posts are famously unreliable (he's been teasing Riddick 4 for ages with no concrete evidence). He could just as easily be hinting at a haiku collection or a tequila commercial. However, with NBCUniversal Entertainment President Donna Langley suggesting that Vin Diesel is essentially the "boss" of the Fast & Furious saga, we must prepare for anything.

Fast Forever is currently slated for release on March 15, 2028, unless, of course, that date gets pushed back again.