After 20 years directing big-budget tentpoles like Star Trek Beyond and several Fast & Furious sequels—from Tokyo Drift (2006) to F9: The Fast Saga (2021)—Justin Lin is drifting back to his indie roots. Last Days, in theaters October 24, dramatizes the life and death of Christian missionary John Allen Chau on North Sentinel Island.

While Last Days sees Lin shift into a different gear from what audiences are used to from him, the Taiwanese American filmmaker tells me he couldn’t make a new indie, his first since 2007, without a few blockbusters under his belt. “We romanticize the notion of indie movies, but the reality is, you don’t get to make movies by yourself,” Lin says over a Zoom call. “I’ve been fortunate to work with amazing people from around the world, and they all came to help me tell the story. When you have a point of view and passion, and you need to communicate that to your team—that has always been the North Star, and I didn’t know it.”

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