Vin Diesel Wants To Honor Paul Walker’s Wishes With This ‘Furious 8′ Decision

Vin Diesel is opening up about the next installment of the “Fast & Furious” franchise — and longtime fans are going to be very excited about what Vin has to say.


In response to recent reports that expressed Universal’s concern that the actor might nominate himself to fill the anticipated film’s directorial void, Diesel set the record straight. He has a different vision for the direction of the franchise — one that he believes only director Rob Cohen, who directed the original “Fast and the Furious,” can bring to life.

“There has always been the desire by Paul [Walker] to have Rob [Cohen] direct one more, this is what fueled my campaign,” Diesel wrote in a Facebook post. “I believe that he can and would reset the franchise nicely, returning to what was the core of the film in the beginning… racing.”

In recent installments of the franchise, Dom and his crew have taken on bigger, badder adventures. Starting with the 2011 caper “Fast Five,” which introduced Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to the franchise, the “Fast & Furious” films have increasingly defied logic and expectations, turning the series into a full-blow action franchise. It sounds like Diesel might want to bring “Furious 8″ back to the franchise’s street racing roots.

Not to mention, given Walker’s untimely passing two years ago, Diesel feels that Cohen “would also handle the Brian O’connor [sic] issue with integrity, given that he and David Ayer were the ones who initially created that beloved character in the first place.”

With just a little more than 16 months to go until the release of the eighth “Fast & Furious” movie, Diesel says they’re still working on the script, which he hopes to have firmed up before he starts his “Last Witch Hunter” press tour later this month.

For Diesel, his main priority is honoring Walker’s legacy. Shortly after the release of “Furious 7,” which broke records and hearts around the world, Diesel told MTV News, “Paul used to say that [’Fast & Furious’] 8 was guaranteed and, in some ways, when your brother guarantees something, you have to make sure it comes to pass… ’Furious 7′ was for Paul; 8 is from Paul.”
The “Fast and Furious” franchise may be know for its fancy cars and death-defying stunts, but we think it’s time to bring the franchise back home to its street-racing familia. And if Cohen isn’t down to return to the streets, Diesel might just sit in that director’s chair himself — that is, if his mom has anything to say about it.

“I will share something crazy that my mother said six months ago after the studio had me announce the date for 8 to the world,” he wrote on Facebook. “’Either you direct 8 yourself… or don’t do it.'”