Universal struggling to get director for ‘Furious 8' (Report)

Since Furious 7 was such a monster hit this year, you would think that Universal Studios would want to get the engines running on an eighth Fast & Furious movie as soon as possible. But according to a new report, the studio is running into some speed bumps.

Shortly after Furious 7 took only 17 days to hit $1 billion at the worldwide box office, Universal announced in April that Furious 8 will hit theaters on April 14, 2017. That would mirror Furious 7, which played like a summer release in the spring. It eventually finished with $1.5 billion worldwide, making it the fifth biggest movie in history.

But there has been some trouble getting Furious 8 moving, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The biggest issue is finding a new director, because James Wan is making The Conjuring 2 and is next going to make Aquaman. At first, Universal didn’t think this was a big deal, since Wan could always make the other two Furious films he signed to make later. They then focused on four-time F&F director Justin Lin, but he’s making Star Trek Beyond.

THR claims that Universal went back to Wan to offer him even more money, but sources say Wan turned them down over health concerns. The pressure of making Furious 7 was enormous, especially after the film had to undergo major changes following Paul Walker’s death in 2013.

Another issue might be star Vin Diesel, who was difficult to work with. Although his rep told THR that this was “nonsense” and Wan’s rep said there was no friction between the two, the site reports that Diesel questioned major action scenes and called for late-night script changes. Universal also claims that Wan was never even considered to direct Furious 8 because of The Conjuring 2.

THR didn’t say who Universal is approaching to direct and Non-Stop’s Jaume Collet-Serra couldn’t do it. The studio is looking to hire an experienced action director and Diesel would have to be asked about the pick.

image courtesy of INFphoto.com