‘Fast & Furious’ Producer Neal Moritz Amicably Settles Lawsuit With Universal

“I am happy to rejoin my Universal and ‘Fast’ family to continue to work on the ‘Fast’ saga for many films to come,” producer says

Neal Moritz
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“Fast & Furious” franchise producer Neal H. Moritz and Universal have amicably agreed to settle a lawsuit the producer filed in 2018 for breach of oral contract, breach of implied contract and promissory fraud.

Moritz took the studio to court after he was removed as a lead producer from the “Fast & the Furious” spinoff “Hobbs and Shaw,” starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, just days before shooting was set to begin.

“Neal H. Moritz has been an integral part of the ‘Fast & Furious’ family since the inception of the franchise nearly two decades ago,” a Universal spokesperson said in a statement. “The studio and Neal have amicably resolved our dispute and settled all claims relating to the ‘Fast & Furious’ spin-off ‘Hobbs & Shaw.’ We’re glad to put this issue behind us and focus on the future of this franchise.”

“‘Fast & Furious’ has always been about family and unfortunately we had a little family disagreement,” Moritz said in a statement. “I am happy to rejoin my Universal and ‘Fast’ family to continue to work on the Fast saga for many films to come. I appreciate Universal’s leadership team working with me and my attorney Howard Abramson to resolve this fairly.”

No paperwork was immediately available but is in the process of being filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Moritz had said at the time of the lawsuit that he was the one “common denominator” on all the “Fast & Furious” films dating back to the original film in 2001, helping to make the franchise a $1.5 billion juggernaut at the box office. He had demanded to be reinstated as a producer and that Universal would be liable to millions of dollars in reputational damage if he were to not be credited on “Hobbs & Shaw.”

Moritz recently re-upped his first look deal with Paramount and will be a producer on “F9,” the ninth film in the franchise that was meant to open this year but was delayed to spring 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Deadline first reported the news.

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