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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First Official Set Image from 'Fast & Furious 7'; Details on Kurt Russell's Role

You get a lot of the old and a little bit of the new in this first official set pic from next year's Fast & Furious 7. The image shows stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, staring off enigmatically in what appears to be a bayou-esque locale. In the background is newcomer Nathalie Emmanuel, who some may recognize from HBO's Game of Thrones. She's rumored to be a new member of Dom Toretto's crew as they head back home to Los Angeles. The photo debuted over at Diesel's Facebook page (like most of these things do), captioned "the unknown road ahead...."

Other new faces include Djimon Hounsou, Jason Statham, Rhonda Rousey, Tony Jaa, Kurt Russell, and director James Wan, with some new details recently emerging about Russell's character that could be considered a spoiler.

According to the film's Twitter, Russell doesn't seem to be confirmed just yet, but we know that his character will be a villain, and one with a reason to want revenge on Dom. He'll play the father of Jesse (Chad Lindberg), a member of Dom's team who was killed in a drive-by in The Fast and the Furious. His character will work alongside Ian Shaw (Statham), but won't become a major factor until Fast & Furious 8.

Fast & Furious 7 opens on July 11th 2014.

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