One Insane Problem With Filming Fast And Furious Car Stunts I’d Never Thought Of Before

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Every Fast & Furious movie needs two things: Vin Diesel drinking Corona while talking about family, and a lot of cars. No matter how over-the-top the series gets, it always comes back to characters driving cool cars and pulling off unbelievable stunts. But it turns out there’s a surprisingly difficult challenge when it comes to actually filming those stunts – something I never considered while watching the movies.

Andy Gill, the stunt coordinator for the upcoming 2025 film Sinners, has previously worked on several stunts for the Fast & Furious franchise. In an interview with Deadline, alongside Brian Machleit (who coordinated stunts for One Battle After Another), Gill explained that Fast & Furious stunts require meticulous precision and adherence to the planned choreography.

On the Fast & Furious films, we often film crashes involving a dozen cars, all happening simultaneously in a single take. Because of this, if even one part of the stunt doesn’t work, the entire shot has to be redone.

Filming under pressure is a huge understatement. Unlike typical scenes where actors can simply redo a flubbed line, a mistake on a Fast & Furious set means potentially damaging very expensive cars. A ruined take isn’t just a waste of time – it can mean damaged vehicles. Because of this, extra care and planning are essential when filming action sequences. As Andy Gill explained…

We practice extensively, starting with small-scale tests using toy cars. Gradually, we move to full walkthroughs – slow drives, around five miles per hour – so everyone understands the timing and positioning. This ensures the cameras, drones, and all other elements are ready and in place, and we often do these at half speed.

I knew filming the car stunts for the Fast & Furious movies was complex, but I didn’t realize every crash had to be perfect on the first attempt. That explains why they do so many rehearsals, gradually increasing the speed with each one. Andy Gill concluded this part of the discussion by saying:

If the initial slow-motion shot goes well, we move on to a slightly faster speed – about three-quarters of normal. We film the scene without any collisions or impacts. At this point, the drone and the ground-based speed camera have established the correct speed, and the actors are familiar with the timing. We capture one long, complex shot with a lot happening at once. When it all comes together, it’s a really amazing experience.

It’s easy to see how satisfying it is to pull off these elaborate scenes, but then the team immediately has to start planning and perfecting the next one – and the next, and the next. When will we see more? As of today, Fast & Furious 11 doesn’t have a confirmed release date, but Vin Diesel recently shared some encouraging news about how filming is going. While a 2026 release isn’t likely, a 2027 release is a possibility.

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2025-11-21 05:08