While it was a minor miracle that Furious 7 was completed, let alone turned out to be pretty OK, the Fast & Furious franchise is forging on with what could be a new chapter in the series’ run if Furious 8’s first poster is to be believed. The Conjuring and Saw filmmaker James Wan made his action debut helming Furious 7, but the impossible production that resulted from reconfiguring the film mid-shoot following Paul Walker’s death took its toll on Wan, who opted not to return for the follow-up. Instead, after a lengthy director search, Vin Diesel and the franchise’s producers settled on F. Gary Gray, who himself is high in demand following the smashing success of the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton.
And now, with the film having just set Charlize Theron to play the villain and production scheduled to begin within a matter of months, Diesel has unveiled the new film’s first poster. It’s very much a teaser mock-up, but the tagline “New Roads Ahead” hints at this eighth installment opening up a new chapter in the series’ legacy, especially with Walker now absent from the franchise with his character having been given a fitting—and touching—sendoff at the end of Furious 7.
Universal has already set release dates for Fast & Furious 9 and Fast & Furious 10 for April 19, 2019 and April 2, 2021, respectively, so it’s possible that Furious 8 will be a beginning of the end of sorts, setting up this concluding trilogy of films. Or it’s possible that Fast & Furious will continue in perpetuity, outlasting us all, given that Furious 7 went on to gross $1.5 billion worldwide. Whatever the case, the next installment is coming in the near future, so take a look at the Furious 8 poster below, via Diesel's Facebook page.
Furious 8 also stars Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Eva Mendes, Kurt Russell, Kristofer Hivju, and Scott Eastwood and opens in theaters on April 14, 2017.
