Exclusive: Space Jam 2, not Fast & Furious 10, next for director Justin Lin

Bugs Bunny 1 Vin Diesel 0.

That appears to be the score following our chat with director Justin Lin, who is set to make basketball comedy Space Jam 2 his next project ahead of Fast & Furious 10.

Lin directed four Fast & Furious films, helping to reinvigorate the fender-bender franchise, and star Vin Diesel last week asked the Taiwan-born filmmaker to return for the 10th and possibly final outing.

But Lin – speaking with ShortList to promote Star Trek Beyond – looks set to direct basketball star LeBron James and the Looney Tunes cartoon characters in a follow-up to the much-loved 1996 Michael Jordan vehicle.

When asked who’d get the nod: Diesel or LeBron, Lin said: “That’s a tough one".

But still he was able to find an answer:

“Part of the fun of Space Jam is that my kid hasn’t been able to see anything that I’ve made. He’s too young to watch any of my stuff. I’m trying to create something so that he can believe that I’m a filmmaker. He knows I go on set, but doesn’t get to see anything. That’s the weird thing.”

Lin, who has directed two episodes of True Detective, added: “I have a great time in TV land too and a lot of the indie DNA has transferred to TV, so I’m excited about that too. All these are great choices that I have in front of me."

And that will see Lin take on Warrior, an 1870s-set crime drama inspired by a Bruce Lee passion project.

Lin added: “It was actually an idea Bruce Lee had and unfortunately wasn’t able to fulfill it before he passed. I’m working on it with his daughter Shannon to hopefully bring it to life, and that’s very exciting. He had an eight-page treatment that I love and I want to try and bring that to life.”

Before then, Lin has the small matter of Star Trek Beyond, which blasts into cinemas this summer.

For more on Star Trek Beyond and Justin Lin, look out for future issues of ShortList magazine; Star Trek Beyond is in cinemas nationwide from 22 July