'Fast and Furious 8' movie update: Hunt for director continues

Posted by actor Vin DieselInstagram/Vin Diesel

Lead actor Vin Diesel has been very vocal about his hopes to get the original "The Fast and the Furious" director Rob Cohen to return to the director's seat for the upcoming "Furious 8" film. But the director has other things at hand, which would make it impossible for him to direct the next installment in the multi-billion film franchise.

Justin Lin -- who helmed the most number of "Fast and Furious" films, namely "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," "Fast & Furious," "Fast Five," and "Fast & Furious 6" --  will be busy working on "Star Trek Beyond" to get it ready in time for its 2016 release.

James Wan, the director of the most successful film from the series to date, will also have too much on his plate in the coming days because of other commitments.

But Universal Pictures and Diesel already have a list of filmmakers whom they wish to work with in the next action-packed "Fast and Furious" film.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, F. Gary Gray is one of the directors being considered for the film after the commercial and critical success of "Straight Outta Compton." He and Diesel even had a one-on-one recently, and the actor posted a photo of them on his Facebook page. But there is no official announcement of Gray's involvement in the film at the moment.

Other reports claim say "The Transporter" and "Now You See Me" director Louis Leterrier is also being considered to lead the film, as well as "The Guest" director Adam Wingard, who, like Wan, has directed horror films. 

The franchise is expected to announce its choice for a director soon, with 'Furious 8' slated to premiere on April 14, 2017.