After days of speculation and a teaser photo courtesy of Vin Diesel – it was confirmed on Thursday that Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray will helm the eighth installment of the billion dollar franchise that rocked the box office to its core this past spring. Gray tweeted his excitement at the prospect of garnering one of the most privileged assignments in Hollywood.
That was quick. Less than a week after actor and producer Vin Diesel hinted on his Facebook page that he was more than willing to direct the 8th installment of the Fast franchise after the search for James Wan’s replacement was yielding no results – Diesel updated his page with a very telling photo. The pic features him and Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray with smiles on their faces, sitting behind the backdrop of a board populated with images from the past Fast and Furious films.
When Furious 7 hit theaters this past April, there was very little doubt that it was going to demolish the box office both at home and abroad. As expected the seventh installment of the already established global juggernaut not only surpassed industry expectations but also enjoyed record-breaking success that once again set the bar higher for the remaining films in the thriving saga.