The Fast and the Furious, successful as it was, probably never really struck anyone as the sort of film that would spawn a franchise that would make it to its seventh feature. But here we are, many years later, talking about Fast and Furious 7 anyway. The seventh installment in the franchise is a movie that’s going to see the series reaching a crossroads though. Much of the property’s longevity can probably be credited to director Justin Lin, who not only helmed the last four Fast films (including the yet-to-be-released Fast & Furious 6), but who gave the whole endeavor new life when he cast Dwayne Johnson in Fast Five and created a surprise hit that provided this money machine with a second wind.
Lin has said that he needs a break from the series and that he isn’t going to helm Fast & Furious 7 though, so what is a studio to do now that they’ve got a franchise on their hands that is once again a big money maker, but that is about to lose the man who gave it its second life? Well, according to Deadline, they’re negotiating to bring on Saw director James Wan in hopes that he can keep the momentum going.
This is a promising choice for a couple of reasons. Not only does Wan have experience in building a successful franchise due to his continued work as a producer on the Saw franchise, but he’s also already directed a really fun and probably underrated dumb action movie in his revenge flick, Death Sentence. If he was able to make Kevin Bacon look like a complete badass in that movie, just imagine what it’s going to be like when he gets his hands on sweaty meatheads like Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel. Lin, for his part, seems to think that Wan is a good choice to be the new director, as he told Deadline,“I’m extremely proud to be part of the Fast franchise, it is an experience I will always treasure. It’s time for me to move on to other things and I’m thrilled that Universal and Neal have selected James Wan to lead the franchise into its new chapter.”
Of course, if Lin is leaving, then what he thinks doesn’t really matter much anymore. What matters now is how the fans are going to respond, and if they’re going to continue to buy tickets to a franchise that’s this long in the tooth after it’s once again switched up directors. What do you think? Is Wan a good choice for the Fast and Furious 7 director? Or, regardless who they get to come on board and direct, is it just ludicrous that they’re going to make a seventh movie about cars going fast at all?