Fast and Furious 8 May Have Found its Director

The last few weeks has seen some confusion over exactly who would direct the next Fast and Furious movie. But it now seems that the search is over.

Variety are reporting that F. Gary Gray, director of the recent hip-hop biopic smash Straight Outta Compton, is on the verge of taking the job of helming the eighth instalment of the massively successful action franchise.

A story first published by The Hollywood Reporter suggested that Universal were struggling to find a director for Furious 8, with previous series helmers James Wan and Justin Lin turning down the job. Producer/star Vin Diesel then issued a statement, denying that any director had even been approached.

Diesel has now posted a picture on his Facebook page of himself and Gray, seated together. This follows an earlier report that the choice had now been narrowed down to four directors, including Gray.

Gray's previous movies include Law Abiding Citizen, The Negotiator, and the Friday movies. He also directed the animated Assassin's Creed Syndicate short that was released in July this year to promote the Ubisoft game.

The previous Fast and Furious film, this year's Furious 7, is the biggest in the series to date, earning more than $1.5 billion worldwide. Furious 8 is currently scheduled for an April 2017 release.