Universal Wants Justin Lin to Return for ‘Fast and Furious’ Finale
There are a whole lot of questions surrounding the future of the 'Fast & Furious' franchise. A few years ago, the series looked just about indestructible. The last two entries were the biggest in 'Fast' history, each clearing well over $600 million worldwide, and 'Fast & Furious 6' set the stage for an even bigger 'Furious 7' (no 'Fast' this time, because they're going to try obeying traffic laws on this one) featuring Jason Statham as the new big bad to challenge Vin Diesel's Dom, Paul Walker's Brian, and the rest of their team of lovable law-breakers. But then stalwart director Justin Lin decided to leave the franchise after four straight films, and, last fall, Walker died in a tragic accident, throwing the fate of 'Furious 7' into chaos.
After a brief hiatus, director James Wan ('The Conjuring') reassembled the rest of his cast and crew to finish 'Furious 7' and to rework the film to accommodate Walker's passing. The sequel now opens on April 3. But what happens after that? Deadline says the series could see a return even more shocking than Michelle Rodriguez's in 'Fast & Furious 6': Justin Lin, who is apparently Universal's pick to direct "a multi-part production that will lead to multiple movies shot together and will wave the checkered flag on the 'Fast & Furious' franchise."
Lin has been attached to a variety of different projects since he left 'Fast & Furious'; most recently, he was supposed to direct the next non-Jason Bourne 'Bourne' movie starring Jeremy Renner's Aaron Cross. That movie was supposed to open in 2016, but when Universal were able to lure Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass back for a fourth 'Bourne,' that made the Lin and Renner spinoff superfluous, and opened up a hole in Lin's schedule before he's supposed to shoot two Season 2 episodes of 'True Detective.' Wan's already committed to make 'The Conjuring 2,' so Lin's old chair is open once again.
Deadline says they have no further details from Universal, and the situation sounds like it's in the very early stages. Lin may move on to another project, and Universal might find another director for 'Fast & Furious 8.' But it would be great if this happened. The only part that's not exciting is when they say that Universal might want to wind down the franchise in the near future. 'Fast & Furious' is forever, guys. Any conclusion before the series reaches 'Fast 500' is too soon.