‘Fast and Furious 8’ Finally Finds a Filmmaker

The Fast and the Furious movies have always been about family, and they’re about to add a new and illustrious member.

After months of speculation about who would take over for Fast and Furious 8 (which, given the franchise’s weirdly inconsistent naming practices, will probably wind up coming to theaters with a moniker like And 8), they have finally found their director. Move over Justin Lin, who was too busy with the new Star Trek movie to return to the franchise, because F. Gary Gray is in the house.

It’s been a banner year for F. Gary Gray. The director of Friday and the remake of The Italian Job released his biggest hit in years, Straight Outta Compton, which dominated the summer box office for multiple weeks and now seems poised to become a major force during awards season. He tweeted the confirmation himself earlier today: 

Related: Interview | F. Gary Gray on ‘Straight Outta Compton’ and ‘Assassin’s Creed’

F. Gary Gray is an accomplished filmmaker who can probably help make Furiouser and Furiouser (or whatever the heck Furious 8 is going to be called) into a blockbuster smash. He also continues this franchise’s impressive tradition of hiring diverse talent. We are eight films into this series and only one installment has been directed by a white person. How many other film franchises can make THAT boast?

Photo: Universal Pictures 

William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and watch him on the weekly YouTube series Most Craved and What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.

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