Race 4: Salman Khan out, Saif Ali Khan returns to drive the popular action thriller franchise ahead? Deets inside

The Race franchise is one of Bollywood's most popular thriller series, starting with the 2008 film directed by Abbas Mustan and starring Saif Ali Khan in the lead role. Saif also starred in the 2013 sequel. However, Salman Khan took over as the lead for the third installment in 2018, which was directed by Remo D'Souza. Unfortunately, this third film received poor reviews at the box office. Alongside Salman, the movie featured Anil Kapoor, Daisy Shah, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, and Saqib Saleem.

In an exciting development for entertainment news fans, producer Ramesh Taurani is set to revive the franchise with a fourth installment. However, Salman Khan will not be returning as the lead actor. According to a report by Pinkvilla, Saif Ali Khan is coming back to the Race franchise. A source close to the project revealed that Saif has been in discussions with Ramesh Taurani about the fourth film for some time, and they have decided to reboot the franchise.

The report also states that Saif Ali Khan is enthusiastic about re-entering the race world, and the movie is expected to begin filming in the first quarter of 2024. Currently, the focus is on scripting the story, although the basic plot for Race 4 has already been decided. Saif will be joined by a grand ensemble cast, and the makers are also searching for a fresh and credible director to helm the action thriller.

This news comes a few weeks after Ramesh Taurani mentioned in an interview that Saif was upset when Salman replaced him in the previous film. It seems that things are now resolved, and fans will soon see Saif back in action.

Watch a video on Saif Ali Khan

Meanwhile, Saif Ali Khan will also be seen this year in the Telugu film Devara: Part 1, directed by Koratala Siva and co-starring Jr NTR and Janhvi Kapoor. Additionally, he is part of Priyadarshan's upcoming thriller, where Bobby Deol will play the villain. On the other hand, Salman Khan will be next seen in AR Murugadoss' Sikandar alongside Rashmika Mandanna. It will release during Eid next year. The superstar will also return in devil mode with Sajid Nadiadwala's Kick 2.