After Fast & Furious 6 was such a massive hit, director Justin Lin, who also helmed the previous three entries, had plenty of options. Rather than return for the seventh Fast & Furious, he chose to direct a Bourne Legacy sequel, which seemed like a sound decision since, like Fast & Furious, it offered the opportunity to take control of a new franchise and build it into something better. Meanwhile, James Wan (The Conjuring) took the reins of the Fast & Furious franchise, and Furious 7 will be due out next year.
However, with Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass returning for the Bourne series, The Bourne Legacy 2 has been put on hold, which leaves Lin looking for a new film. Although he still has a wealth of projects to choose from, it looks like he might be come back to Fast & Furious to not only continue the popular franchise, but to bring it to a conclusion. Hit the jump for more.
As we reported yesterday, Wan won't return for the eighth Fast & Furious movie, and will instead go direct The Conjuring 2, which is due out in June 2016. That leaves the director's chair open for Fast & Furious 8, and Deadline expects that Lin and Universal are going to get back together. Deadline then goes a step further by reporting that their conversation will be "about him directing a multi-part production that will lead to multiple movies shot together and will wave the checkered flag on the Fast & Furious franchise." A year ago, Paul Walker said Fast & Furious 8 was guaranteed and Universal was also eyeing Fast & Furious 9 and 10, but it's unknown how far they want to take it now.
Universal loves releasing their Fast & Furious movies as close together as possible (Furious 7 would have come out this summer, but it was pushed to 2015 because of Walker's death), and shooting multiple entries together could help line-up an annual hit since the films are so popular. I'm surprised there's even talk of wanting to bring the franchise to a close.
If Lin does decide to come back to Fast & Furious, it will have to wait until he's done directing the first two episodes of True Detective: Season 2. While I'm not a die-hard fan of the Fast & Furious series, it's definitely been rewarding to see his skills grow with each new film, and while I don't know how Wan handled Furious 7 (the trailer looks pretty damn good), I'm pretty sure fans will be okay with Lin getting back in the driver's seat.
