Over the weekend, Vin Diesel shared the first promotional image for Fast & Furious 8, which is set to see director F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job, Straight Outta Compton) picking up the baton from Fast & Furious 7 helmer James Wan for what’s said to be the first instalment of “one last trilogy to end the saga”.
Speaking to Collider to promote the home-entertainment release of Straight Outta Compton, Gray has been discussing his plans for the eighth instalment of the action series, stating that he plans “to bring something different to the franchise while still satisfying what the fans want.”
“[Vin and I] talked about all of the Fast movies up to this point, and where could we go,” states Gray. “I think he was really happy with the vision I have for the franchise and I was really happy about where he sees not only his character going but the franchise itself, because he’s a producer as well. When you look at someone like J.J. Abrams who gives you the spectacle and great action set pieces but also gives you character and plotting and narrative, I think it’s my job—and my intention—to do both. You amp up everything, you work on the performances, you work on the story, you work on the action; it’s just not one thing. Hopefully I bring more to it, that’s part of the point is to bring something different to the franchise while still satisfying what the fans want.”
“I’m probably not at liberty to go too far into detail”, he continues. “All I have to say is I’m extremely excited about the direction we’re going in, and we’re really pushing to make sure the audience feels like it’s not more of the same. They feel like it’s fresh, they feel like the characters they’ve come to know and love are there, but this is gonna be different, and that’s probably the most I can give you right now. I can say that we’ve flown around the world to scout, and it’s pretty profound some of the things that we’ve uncovered and how it’s gonna serve our story.”
Fast & Furious 8 is slated for release on April 14th 2017, and is expected to reunite franchise veterans Vin Diesel (The Last Witch Hunter), Dwayne Johnson (San Andreas), Jason Statham (Spy), Michelle Rodriguez (Machete Kills), Tyrese Gibson (Transformers: Dark of the Moon) and Ludacris (Empire).
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