Who will direct Fast & Furious 8? That’s the question that’s becoming increasingly important over at Universal Pictures as the film’s April 14, 2017 release date looms and the director’s chair remains empty. After the grueling shoot of Furious 7, James Wan asked to be let out of his option to return and helm Furious 8 in favor of directing The Conjuring 2 at Warner Bros., and most recently word has surfaced that the heavily involved nature of Vin Diesel is making the matter of finding a filmmaker tricky. They went to Justin Lin, but he chose Star Trek Beyond instead, and then they went back to Wan with a bigger offer, and he declined again. Diesel took to Facebook yesterday to hint that he was feeling nostalgic for bringing The Fast and the Furious director Rob Cohen back, but the most recent report on the matter, it was suggested that some at the studio are “worried” that Diesel himself will want to direct.
Now the circus continues, as more news has surfaced as to what’s going on with the director’s seat. But first, let’s hear from Diesel himself, who posted the following on his Facebook page today:
It is no secret that my good friend Justin and I have been very intensely discussing the trilogy, as we have dreamed it... Posted by Vin Diesel on Wednesday, September 30, 2015
So yeah, he seems to hint that he might actually want to try directing Furious 8 himself, though THR reports that Universal won't let that happen and is rather unhappy with this particular post. Regardless, Diesel seems to be simultaneously pushing for Cohen to land the job, who was apparently Paul Walker's choice (For what it's worth, Tyrese Gibson puts his supporting behind Cohen as well in the comments). Deadline has a bit of clarity on the matter, saying there’s been back-and-forth internally on who should direct and that while Diesel wanted Cohen to return, that’s not happening. The report adds that Louis Letterrier (The Incredible Hulk, Now You See Me) is now in the mix, as is Ericson Core, who was the cinematographer on the first movie and recently helmed the Point Break remake.
So, again, who will direct Furious 8? It appears that nobody knows, and that question is still very much being hammered out. But as Chris Morgan gets the script to a closer place of completion, we will hopefully learn the answer in the next few weeks—though I wouldn't bank on the real answer popping up on Diesel's Facebook page.
