'Furious 8' is an upcoming action-thriller film starring Vin Diesel, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Michelle Rodriguez. Director F. Gary Gray said that he wanted to give a fresh take on the aging franchise. He admitted that J.J. Abrams' 'Star Wars' had a huge influence on him.
According to Collider, director F. Gary Gray of 'Straight Outta Compton' fame admitted that he wanted to take the newest addition to the 'Fast and Furious' action series to a new direction. He admitted to meeting with leading man Vin Diesel, who he worked with previously in 'A Man Apart', to talk about ideas for the new film.
He said, "I'm probably not at liberty to go too far into detail. All I have to say is I'm extremely excited about the direction we're going in, and we're really pushing to make sure the audience feels like it's not more of the same. They feel like it's fresh, they feel like the characters they've come to know and love are there, but this is gonna be different, and that's probably the most I can give you right now."
The 46-year old filmmaker is set to direct cast members Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Jason Statham, Ludacris and Tyrese Gibson in the eight installment in the series after previous director James Wan exited the franchise.
According to MTV.com, Gray admitted that he didn't feel any pressure of trying to live up to preceding films since he had his own story to tell as well as a unique point of view. He said, "I love the story I'm about to tell. I'm having a ton of fun - I feel like a kid again. You'll see the manifestation of that on the screen. I'm just really excited about it."
He also revealed that J.J. Abrams' 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' will have a big influence on him as he works on the new project. Gray said that just as Abrams had his own take Star Wars, he too would work on all aspects of 'Furious 8' to give it a fresh revamp. According to Polygon, he said, "You amp up everything, you work on the performances, you work on the story, you work on the action; it's just not one thing. Hopefully I bring more to it..."
'Furious 8' is an upcoming film in the 'Fast and Furious' action franchise scheduled to be released on April 14, 2017. It is directed by F. Gary Gray and produced by Vin Diesel and Neal H. Moritz. It will mark the first film without lead actor Paul Walker, who passed away in 2013.
