With the announcement that James Wan was leaving the blockbuster street racing franchise after Furious 7 to tend his own series with The Conjuring 2 at Warner Bros–now scheduled for June 10, 2016–it seems the slot is open for a director to helm the next Dominic Toretto outing.
According to Deadline, the man for the job might just be Justin Lin, who bowed out of the series after directing the most recent four films before Wan took over. While it can be chalked up to rumor right now, Deadline seems certain that Universal is gearing up for talks with Lin to direct back-to-back installments for what will become the series finale for the Fast gang. The multiple installments would be shot simultaneously, not unlike the multi-part finales of “Harry Potter,” “Twilight,” “The Hunger Games” and forthcoming Avengers: Infinity War.
This would all have to happen after Lin completes his commitment to lens the first two episodes of HBO’s second series of “True Detective,” not to mention the $100-million-dollar 3D Shaolin Temple remake which was announced back in January. Lin was previously attached to make the second Aaron Cross “Bourne” movie for Universal, before that project was delayed in favor of Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass returning to the franchise.
Will this game of franchise musical chairs work out in Lin’s favor and for “Fast and Furious” fans?
Continuing the global exploits in the unstoppable franchise built on speed, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson lead the returning cast of Furious 7. The new chapter of the hugely successful series also welcomes back favorites Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Elsa Pataky and Lucas Black. Directed by James Wan, the April 3, 2015 release also features Jason Statham, Tony Jaa, Kurt Russell, Nathalie Emmanuel, Djimon Hounsou, John Brotherton and a cameo by Iggy Azaela.
(Photo Credit: DJDM/WENN.com)
