Neal Moritz has been producing Fast & Furious films since the first one touched down in 2001. His future with Universal Pictures seems solidified as well, since IMDB has him labeled as a producer for the upcoming ninth and tenth installments in the franchise. Universal is currently working on their first spin-off in the Fast & Furious universe entitled Hobbs & Shaw. Following Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham's characters from the Furious movie universe, the film is set to touch down sometime next year.
According to Deadline, Moritz is suing Universal over the spin-off film. The entire lawsuit can be read here. Within the 20-page filing, Mortiz claims that Universal is attempting to rework his contract. The studio and Mortiz came to a verbal agreement much like his contractual obligations for Fast 9 & 10. In the final moments, before production started, the studio rescinded on their agreement. "In an extraordinary show of bad faith, and just a few days before filming was set to begin on Hobbs and Shaw, Universal took the position that Moritz either had to amend his oral producer deal to accept substantially inferior financial terms, or be cut out of the Picture altogether,” reads the lawsuit. “Remarkably, despite Moritz having complete Pay-or-Play protection on all of his last several deals on the FF Franchise and having relied on Universal’s oral promises, Universal also took the extraordinary position that it was free to exploit Moritz’s ideas for Hobbs and Shaw, and his work product over an approximately year-and-a-half period, without honoring its oral producer agreement."
The studio threatened to release Mortiz if he doesn't abide by their new contract. Mortiz isn't having it, and wants to be reinstated at his original price, or be paid ten-of-millions in recuperation and damages.
