Movies that earn
more than $1 billion worldwide tend to produce sequels. As such,
Furious 8 was a no-brainer. Yet, the ridiculously lucrative
Furious 7, ended with real closure, and raised some burning questions. Can the series continue following
the death of Paul Walker? Should the series tell more stories in the lives of these now iconic screen characters, or is it time to let the
Fast & Furious crew drive off into the sunset on one of the highest notes in franchise history?
That conversation is ongoing, but at least we have a definitive answer. Vin Diesel took to the stage of CinemaCon recently and confirmed that
Fast & Furious 8 is happening, and will reach theaters
on April 14, 2017. It’s definitely happening! But there remain a ton of questions about who will be involved both in front of and behind the camera. Let’s dig in to all that we already know about the upcoming
Fast & Furious sequel:
The Kurt Russell Connection
It bears repeating that
Furious 7 always was going to be the start of
a new trilogy of
Fast films, though that plan was changed once Paul Walker died. James Wan
confirmed that the original ending of
Furious 7 would have led to new stories. But the first real hint we got about
Fast & Furious 8 came when Vin Diesel appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel show and revealed that supreme badass
Kurt Russell was added to part seven as a tease for what the crew wanted to do in part eight. And Vin spoke in the present tense, saying that Russell’s covert character, Mr. Nobody, would be a catalyst for events that would follow through in
Fast & Furious 8. Now, Walker likely was going to be part of that adventure, and now will not be. But that doesn’t mean the show can’t go on.
The New York Setting
In the same clip, Vin Diesel dropped the interesting nugget that the crew would shift their mission for (or against) Mr. Nobody to the streets of New York City. Which, in my opinion, is fantastic. The
Fast & Furious movies always have been an L.A.-based franchise, and Diesel delivered on his promise to return the series to Southern California with
Furious 7. But a series that has stopped in so many amazing global cities has yet to invade the Big Apple, and I want to see Toretto’s crew try to stay fast in midtown Manhattan traffic. (The "furious" part won’t be difficult. New Yorkers are always mad about something.) In a recent conversation, The Rock told the media that they wanted to give
Furious 7 time to breathe, and to succeed, but that they were "up for the challenge" of doing
Furious 8. And Diesel chimed in that
F8 sounds like "
Fate," something he said Walker always believed.
Justin Lin’s Return
James Wan was an unusual choice to helm
Furious 7 after
Justin Lin decided not to come back after directing multiple
Fast films. Wan primarily was known as a horror guy, and his lone foray into "action" – the Kevin Bacon drama
Death Sentence -- went largely unseen. It’s very possible that Wan could come back to direct a
Fast & Furious 8, especially given the success of
Furious 7. But a few months back, a story broke on
Deadline that Lin would return to the series to direct a multi-part finale. Wan even said in a recent interview that Justin Lin would be
the perfect choice to bring the series to a close. This plan still could be in place, though Lin is about to board the U.S.S. Enterprise as the director of
Star Trek 3, so Universal might have to put their red-hot series on ice for a bit if they want to wait or Lin’s services. Would that be a good idea?
Lucas Black’s Contract
Those paying attention to the
Fast & Furious timeline synch couldn’t have been that surprised to see Lucas’ Black’s
Tokyo Drift hero, Sean Boswell, return to the screen.
Furious 6 revealed that Han was killed by Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), so Dom pitstopped to Tokyo to meet with Sean, get information on this new threat, and bring Han’s body back to Los Angeles for a proper burial. At the time, Black revealed that he had
signed up for
Fast & Furious parts 7, 8 and 9. Again, plans for the series seem fluid, but if Black was a part of the future story before, I see no reason to think he couldn’t be part of
the next two chapters, at least. Drift on!
The Eva Mendes Rumor
So far, the
Fast & Furious films have made a habit out of bringing familiar faces back into the fold. Michelle Rodriguez was believed to be dead before returning for
Fast & Furious 6. We just mentioned Lucas Black, and his presence in
Furious 7. So with the timeline realigned now, it makes sense that a
recent rumor suggests the return of Eva Mendes’s character, U.S. Customs Agent Monica Fuentes, be brought back into the story. As we learned in
Furious 7, Dom and his crew now runs in criminal circles that involve the federal government – or, shadow arms of the government operated by the likes of Mr. Nobody. This could open up several doors for the
Furious crew to either have to help Fuentes… or avoid her. Maybe the God’s Eye MacGuffin from the latest movie will put Toretto on Fuentes’ radar? Maybe Mr. Nobody has a new job for Dom? I think
Fast & Furious 8 will happen, particularly after
Furious 7 just broke the bank. Do you?
Splitting a single installment of a franchise into two parts isn’t just for movies anymore. J.K. Rowling revealed on Twitter that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the upcoming stage play, will be released in two parts.