There May Be Three More 'Fast & Furious' Movies to Look Forward To

Is there any reason in the world why Universal would want to see their Fast & Furious franchise go away? Six movies in, and a seventh on the way, and it is undoubtedly stronger than ever with no signs of slowing down. Months ago the plan seemed to be that the whole thin would wrap up with a ninth film, and earlier this week Justin Lin would said to be coming back to direct a multi-film arc that will bring it all to a close. Now it seems there may be more gas left in the tank than we thought.

As part of a roundtable interview with THR, Universal head Donna Langley spoke about where she things the franchise is headed...

"We think there's at least three more. Paul [Walker] is, and always will be, an integral part of the story. But there are many other great characters, and it's also an opportunity to introduce new characters. I think it's still a growing franchise. We'll see what happens with 'Furious 7,' obviously, but our box office has grown over the past three or four films and internationally, in particular. So we think that there's more to mine there. But we're of course very mindful about fatigue."

Now, she could be including Furious 7 in that equation, which would indeed see things end with movie #9, but it does sound like she's open to keeping the engines revving for as long as there is money to be made.  While she's right that there are a ton of characters they could choose to follow, it was deviating from the core group that hurt the franchise to begin to begin with. Universal found a way to right the course by bringing all of those characters together to form a F&F superteam, essentially, but why mess with what's working so well? 

Furious 7 opens April 3rd 2015. 

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Justin Lin could Return to Wrap Up the 'Fast & Furious' Franchise

At the same time it was revealed Lucas Black would be returning to the Fast & Furious franchise for the first time since Tokyo Drift, we learned he'd be hanging around for three movies, all the way through Fast & Furious 9. That may seem like a long stretch but Universal has to be happy with the $2B series Vin Diesel built, so obviously they want it to go on as long as possible. But if they are concluding it with the ninth chapter, the guy they want at the helm is the one who reinvigorated it: Justin Lin.

Lin directed the last four movies, including last year's Fast 6, before stepping aside to pursue other projects. James Wan (The Conjuring) took over for Furious 7, but now that he's leaving again for The Conjuring 2 that opens the door for Lin to return for what Deadline describes as "a multi-part production that will lead to multiple movies shot together and will wave the checkered flag on the Fast & Furious franchise." Lin had agreed to direct a sequel to The Bourne Legacy but with that film getting bumped aside due to the return of Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass, it leaves a bit of room in Lin's schedule.

This is all just rumor for now but one has to believe Lin would want to finish up what he started. Fast & Furious has always been about family, and Lin is definitely a big part of that.

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Cinema Royale #42- 'Out of the Furnace'; The Future of 'Fast & Furious'

On this week's show, awards season continues to steamroll along with the gritty crime drama Out of the Furnace, starring Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, and Zoe Saldana! This one's been flying under the radar but does it have the good to win some gold?

Plus, in the wake of Paul Walker's sudden passing, we take a brief look at his career and the future of the Fast & Furious franchise.

You can find Cinema Royale every single week on Blogtalkradio, Itunes, Libsyn, Stitcher, Podomatic, and as part of the Hashtag Studios Broadcast Network.  Listen to the latest episode below...

Find Additional Movies Podcasts with Cinema Royale on BlogTalkRadio

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Three names emerge as contenders to direct 'Fast & Furious 7'

With Justin Lin announcing that Fast & Furious 6 will be his last time at the wheel of the franchise, Universal needs to get moving on finding his replacement quickly. Vin Diesel has said that filming could begin as soon as this summer, with the shortened production schedule a large part of the reason why Lin stepped down. Three names have reportedly emerged as contenders for the sought-after job, and they all come with varying degrees of franchise experience.

Harald Zwart, Brad Furman, and Jeff Wadlow are the three directors said to be in consideration to helm Fast & Furious 7. Wadlow just finished up with Kick-Ass 2 for the studio, and they may have been impressed enough to offer him the keys to one of their most prized vehicles. He's also a director who knows how to put a limited budget to solid use, having directed his slasher horror Cry_Wolf with the $1M prize he won at the Chrysler Million Dollar Film Festival. He may be the most logical choice based on Universal's familiarity with his work.

Zwart has the most franchise experience of all, having directed Agent Cody Banks, The Pink Panther 2, and Jaden Smith in The Karate Kid. He also has The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones due out soon, and if that film is a success he'll likely be called back for a sequel. Furman is the dark horse, having helped Matthew McConaughey's dramatic evolution with The Lincoln Lawyer. There have been rumblings of a sequel to the film, but nothing concrete at this stage. His only real stab at action was with the 2008 armored truck thriller, The Take, which happened to feature Fast and Furious co-star, Tyrese Gibson.

This list isn't final by any means, so there may be others in contention we don't know about. Whatever the case may be, expect an announcement to come down very soon.[Latino Review]

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Vin Diesel says another 'Fast & Furious' films this summer

At one point it was looking like Vin Diesel and director Justin Lin would be filming Fast and Furious 6 & 7 back-to-back. That didn't happen, but they may have just decided to accelerate the schedule and begin work on the next film rather quickly, as in this summer.

Vin Diesel took to his always-busy Facebook page to reveal that another film is shooting this summer, although he didn't say what it would be...

Diesel: "There was an early screening in LA this week of Fast 6. The crowd reaction was surreal… and their demand for the continuation was powerful…

It’s remarkable to think I first embodied this character in 1999… and the evolution continues.

P.s. Filming begins this summer in LA, where it all started… talk about a studio in sync with the audience…"

The likelihood is that he's referring to Fast and Furious 7, but there's also the possibility of it being the proposed spinoff involving Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs character. Fast and Furious 6 races into theaters on May 24th, and rumors have it ending on quite a cliff hanger with the emergence of a major villain. If that's true, then it makes sense to get the next film out there as quickly as possible.

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Dwayne Johnson to get his own 'Fast and Furious' spinoff?

Do you smell what the Rock is cookin'? Universal certainly does, especially after Fast Five turned out to be the biggest film in the long-running franchise, largely thanks to Dwayne Johnson's presence in it. Ever since, there have been the occasional rumors that his Luke Hobbs character could get his own solo film, but nothing was ever taken too seriously. But now in a conversation with Empire, Johnson suggests that it could happen soon, maybe after Fast and Furious 6....

Johnson: “[It could arrive] possibly after this one or after the next one, possibly. "I’m not quite too sure. I know that’s the goal and we continue to build that character and have him take shape. But yes, I can’t wait.”

If recent news holds up, the next film teases a major villain for Fast and Furious 7, which some are looking at as the possible end of the franchise. So it makes sense for producers to start looking towards the future, and Johnson has proven to be the sort of actor capable of building a successful series around. Along with Fast and Furious he's currently leading G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and has a Hercules film on the way with Brett Ratner.

Fast and Furious 6 hits theaters on May 24th. Do you want to see Agent Hobbs get his own solo film? Or should he stay with Vin Diesel and the gang?

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Dwayne Johnson and Gina Carano on the set of 'Fast Six'

 *UPDATE* Here's another shot of Johnson with Gal Gadot, and damn she's lookin' fine! Some guys have all the luck.*

This is just something I found really cool. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is one of the most active stars on Twitter, and you can always count on him to give his fans an inside look at every production he's a part of. He's currently filming Fast Six, which sees him returning to the role of DSS agent Luke Hobbs, and now he's tweeted a new set photo of himself with his co-star, Gina Carano.

Kinda makes me wonder if the ex-WWE superstar and the MMA grappler ever got into any wrestling matches on set? Think he gave her the People's Elbow? Carano will play a member of Hobbs' team, who again are tracking down Dominic Toretto(Vin Diesel) and his crew as they attempt a major European heist. Other new additions to the cast include Luke Evans as the villain, martial artist Joe Taslim, and model Clara Paget.

Fast Six is directed by Justin Lin and hits theaters on May 24th 2013. 

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Highlander Reboot Lands 'Furious' Director

A few months ago we had reported on the script for the upcoming Highlander reboot, to be spearheaded over at Summit studios. Well now it appears the project continues to run smoothly as Fast and Furious director Justin Lin has officially signed on to helm the project. Highlander tells the story of a group of immortals, destined to engage in single combat against eachother until only one remains. The original Highlander was released in 1986 and starred Sean Connery(as a Spaniard!!!) and Christopher Lambert. Numerous sequels were released afterwards, including a long running TV show(which kicked ass).

Justin Lin is a good choice, as he's already shown he's got a knack for high octane action/adventure franchises. I still have some concern about the script, which seems to miss the point of what Highlander is supposed to be about, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt for now.

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