2001 saw the release of a little film called “The Fast and the Furious,” a movie centered around illegal street racing, and the relationship between an undercover cop (Paul Walker) and a street racer (Vin Diesel). Little could anyone suspect what this Rob Cohen-directed film would launch. Sure, the series took some time to find its footing–stumbling a bit in “2 Fast 2 Furious,” and outright crashing in “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift”–but when it finally did, it turned into one of the biggest franchises in film history.

One of the huge question marks coming out of the mammoth success of “Furious 7” is “who will direct the next one?” Justin Lin is off doing his “Star Trek Beyond” thing, and James Wan is still too burnt out from “Furious 7” to even consider doing a “Furious 8.” So who can we expect to take on the franchise?

In an address to all of his fans,Vin Diesel made a post on Facebook detailing that question:

Hopefully the writer will deliver [the script for ‘Furious 8’] within the next two weeks… before my ‘Witch Hunter’ press tour begins. There has always been the desire by Paul to have Rob [Cohen] direct one more, this is what fueled my campaign… I believe that he can and would reset the franchise nicely, returning to what was the core of the film in the beginning… racing. He would also handle the Brian O’Connor issue with integrity, given that he and David Ayer were the ones who initially created that beloved character in the first place.

Ultimately we all want the best film to honor what we have created and what you the audience has adopted as your favorite franchise. I will leave this matter in the studios hands for a moment while I release ‘The Last Witch Hunter’ and start production of the long awaited ‘Xander Returns.’

So will Diesel begin his “campaign” to have “The Fast and the Furious” director Rob Cohen return to the franchise? And more interestingly, can we now expect to the series to refocus back to its street-racing roots? It’s a bit of a cool thought, and it’s understandable that Diesel would want the series to go in that direction, but I do wonder if it’s a direction that the studio and mainstream fans would like.

After all, the original film was more of a character drama than anything else–nothing like how the series is perceived today. Would audiences go out and see the film if it makes an attempt to rekindle its original charm?

And then there is one more little nugget that Diesel left on his page, regarding directing–and it has nothing to do with Rob Cohen. 

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… ‘Either you direct 8 yourself… or don’t do it.’ Some of you vinbook pioneers are all too familiar with my mother’s wisdom, as I have posted her sayings in the past on Our page… but I wrote it off as just a mother’s love and belief in me, though she has seen first hand what I’ve done to make these movies defy expectations and become increasingly successful, even when the studio thought I was crazy… haha. 

Is this an unsubtle way for Diesel to hint to the studios that he wants to take his shot at directing one of the films? Possibly.

So what do you think of Rob Cohen directing, Vin Diesel directing, and more importantly, this potential new direction for the “Fast and Furious” series? So many questions! Let us know your thoughts below!

SOURCE: Vin Diesel