All the speculation mills can close shop now, Fast and Furious 8 finally has a director.

Wish List Of New Stars Joining Fast and Furious 8

F. Gray Gray, who had recently been revealed as having talks with Universal to helm the film, has confirmed that he will be directing the sequel to Furious 7, via Twitter on Oct. 9:

The Hollywood Reporter recently reported that Gray was in talks to helm the Furious 7 sequel. Universal has picked a director from its family, as Gray recently helmed Straight Outta Compton for the studio. According to the report, exclusive talks between the studio and the director have already begun and Gray has trumped directors like Louis Letterier, Adam Wingard, and William Eubank who were also in the running.

On October 5, Vin Diesel also posted a picture with Gray on his Facebook account, which could be interpreted as a tacit approval of the director. This could be treated as some form of confirmation for the next helmer of the franchise.

In a previous Facebook post Diesel had addressed accusations of his high standards and trouble with some directors being the cause of delays in starting filming. While taking the issues head on, the actor who is also a producer with the franchise, stated that he will share his thoughts on the possible directors for the the eighth instalment in his next post.

In the Facebook post Diesel revealed that while Justin Lin -- who has directed three Fast and Furious films -- was in the running, the director has his hands full with next Star Trek movie.

"It is no secret that my good friend Justin and I have been very intensely discussing the trilogy, as we have dreamed it for almost a decade. We know that when we re-team we will shock the world. It is also no secret that he is finishing Trek for JJ and won't be done in time for us to make the date the studio wanted me to announce of April 14th 2017.

This would leave 8 without an obvious go to director..."

He went on to reveal that he was thinking of bringing back Rob Cohen -- the director of the first Fast and Furious film -- for this one, adding that it had also been Paul Walker's wish to see Cohen direct another movie in the series:

"First and most importantly is the SCRIPT, which has to be great. Hopefully the writer will deliver something within the next two weeks... before my Witch Hunter press tour begins. There has always been the desire by Paul to have Rob direct one more, this is what fueled my campaign... I believe that he can and would reset the franchise nicely, returning to what was the core of the film in the beginning... racing. He would also handle the Brian O'connor issue with integrity, given that he and David Ayer were the ones who initially created that beloved character in the first place."

Fast and Furious 8 is scheduled to be released in April of 2017.

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Fast and Furious 8, Movies