Facebook"We talkin' or we racin'?"
Now we're officially doing a little bit of both because director F. Gary Gray has confirmed that he will be directing Fast & Furious 8! Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) will be back to give fans more "ride or die" action. The Straight Outta Compton director confirmed the news on Facebook and Twitter Thursday.
"I could not have asked for better partners than Vin Diesel, Neal H. Moritz, & the Universal Studios Entertainment family," he posted with the release date, April 14, 2017. "Together we are excited to bring you the next chapter in the Fast & Furious saga. #FastFamily"
Gray's involvement seemed all but certain as of Wednesday when Diesel posted a picture on Facebook with Gray and a collage of photos from the Fast & Furious franchise. There wasn't a caption, but the picture alone spoke thousands of words that all but confirmed it.
Posted by Vin Diesel on Monday, October 5, 2015
Regardless of the rumors that have swirled for a while about the highly anticipated installment, nothing was set in stone until Gray's announcement; however, actress Michelle Rodriguez shared details with E! News in September about the next film and revealed how Paul Walker would inspire it despite sadly not appearing in it.
"We need a good reason to move on after Paul," she told us. "And being that this is a global franchise now, it's not just the American baby, it's important that we consider moving on and take it seriously."
She continued, "But for us as a cast, I think we need a reason and it needs to have heart, so hopefully we'll find it, you know? And somebody who's passionate about directing it—I think that's the most important thing is finding a good director."
And found one they did! Not only has Straight Outta Compton outdone itself at the box office, it's also drumming up Oscar buzz, so this cast is in really good hands.
Diesel also has spoken about Furious 8, which he nicknamed "F8" AKA "fate."
"Paul used to say that 8 was guaranteed and, in some ways, when your brother guarantees something, you have to make sure it comes to pass," Diesel said backstage at the MTV Movie Awards. "So, if fate has it—fate, F8—then you'll get it. Furious 7 was for Paul; 8 is from Paul."
And we cannot wait for it.
(E! and Universal Pictures are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)