Vin Diesel‘s bullish prediction that Furious 7 would earned a Best Picture Oscar nomination never came to pass, but the billions-earning franchise appears set and ready to go with its next installment wasting little time in the process. Diesel took to Instagram revealing both the title and expected release date of the eighth installment to the muscular franchise.
The latest, to be directed by Straight Outta Compton‘s F. Gary Gray, will be titled Fast 8 and the teaser one-sheet looks as if New York City will be the epicenter for the latest set of vehicular adventures. There is also a continual rumor that Fast 8 may set part of its action in Cuba, a boon perhaps since the embargo between travel to and from the U.S. has since relinquished.
The tag line “New Roads Ahead” also may imply that this installment will be first put together since the passing of franchise star Paul Walker (Walker appeared in all previous installments except Tokyo Drift). Walker died while Furious 7 was in production and continued with the use of CGI and the use of his brothers as doubles. Diesel is all set to return, of course, as is Jason Statham (Spy), Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (San Andreas), Michelle Rodriguez (Avatar), Tyrese Gibson (Ride Along 2) and Ludacris (New Years Eve). No synopsis has been revealed, but Diesel has suggested that Fast 8 will kick start a new trilogy with the intention of keeping the franchise up and running for ten films total.
Fast 8 heads to theaters on April 2017.