When Vin Diesel announced that “Fast & Furious 8” was a sure go along with two other franchise sequels, fans were wondering where Dominic Toretto and his gang will be headed, especially now that Paul Walker who plays Brian O’Conner won’t be joining them for the first time after the actor died in 2013.
Walker died in a single-vehicle collision in California along with his friend Roger Rodas in November 2013. The 40-year-old actor has already filmed half of “Fast & Furious 7” that time and his two brothers were tapped to film the rest of the scenes as stand-ins for his Brian O’Conner character.
But now that the upcoming film has found a director in F. Gary Gray of “Straight Outta Compton,” things are looking quite good for the street racing action film franchise.
Gary announced in October last year through his Twitter account that he has signed up to direct the 8th installment of the successful action-packed franchise.
Gray is already a long-time director, a film producer, and even an actor. His works include “Friday, Set it Off,” “Law-Abiding Citizen” and “Be Cool” among others.
He also received multiple awards and recognitions, his latest being the critically acclaimed drama “Straight Outta Compton,” a biopic about the rap group N.W.A.
Speaking to Collider, Gray talks about the directing gig for the 8th installment of the franchise as a highly-coveted job. He also talked about Diesel, whom he previously worked with in “A Man Apart” back in 2003.
Gray explains that he doesn’t really feel any pressure into following the box office success “Fast & Furious 7” attained under the helm of Director James Wan.
He admits that’s it’s a difficult step to follow, but other than generating ticket sales, he’s more hell bent on telling a great story on where Dominic Toretto and his crew are after “Fast & Furious 7.”
The 46-year-old director says that what’s important for him and Diesel is that they give the fans of the franchise something different. Gray says that every director has their own point of view and that they will use that viewpoint under the lens.
Gray says that they are pushing boundaries to make certain that the film wouldn’t feel like it’s more of the same.
“The Negotiator” director adds that the key to the upcoming film’s success would be the balance of action and character-driven plots. He adds that every film in the franchise has its different color that’s why it reached 15 years in the film industry.
Speaking to MTV, “The Italian Job” director says that Universal tapped him to do “Fast & Furious 8” and gave him liberty to the story, the performance, and the actors, and that is what he will be doing.
Gray kept his lips sealed when pressed for details about the film’s plot. However, he did ensure that he will give the film a new flavor and that it will feel very refreshing.
During last year’s Universal Cinemacon in Las Vegas, Diesel announced that the eight, ninth, and tenth movie of the franchise will happen and it will be the final trilogy in the action film franchise. The film, just like “Fast & Furious 7” is expected to pay tribute to the late Paul Walker.
Stars from previous films such as Michele Rodriguez, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson and even Jordana Brewster have expressed their willingness to return and reprise their roles.
Fans are also looking forward to seeing the return of Jason Statham as the film’s antagonist, Deckard Shaw. Given that his character ended up in bars in the last film, there’s a huge possibility that he will return to get revenge on Dom and the rest of the gang.
In November last year, Variety reported that producers were already exploring how they would extend the series beyond “Fast & Furious 8.” Diesel also opened a possibility that future spinoff movies in the franchise could happen.