by Justin Cook
After a shortlist revealed the three finalists in contention to direct Fast & Furious 8, F. Gary Gray took to Twitter yesterday to announce that he will officially be helming the upcoming Universal Pictures film.
Check out his tweet below:
https://twitter.com/FGaryGray/status/652181877587992576
Reportedly, he competed against directors Adam Wingard (The Guest) and Louis Leterrier (Now You See Me) for the job, and franchise star Vin Diesel and his producing partner Neal H. Moritz carefully selected him. Gray will be replacing the director of Furious 7, James Wan, who decided not to come back to the series for another installment; Furious 7 was the highest grossing film in the Fast & Furious franchise, bringing in over $1.5 billion worldwide on a $190 million budget.
Gray is coming off of his smash summer hit Straight Outta Compton, a film that turned out to be a massive success for Universal. Earning excellent reviews from both critics and audiences, the film went on to rake in close to $200 million worldwide on a $28 million budget. The director’s other credits include The Italian Job and Law Abiding Citizen.
The eighth installment currently has a cast that includes such returning members as Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, but more are expected to come on board soon.
The project remains untitled at the moment, although fans can expect a title along the lines of Fast 8, Furious 8 or Fast & Furious 8.
The film will be hitting theaters on April 14, 2017.
Source: Twitter
