'Fast & Furious' Coming To An End? Director Justin Lin To Return For Franchise Finale: Report

The “Fast & Furious” franchise has been moving at full throttle since its fourth installment brought back all of the original characters in 2009. Now, with its seventh movie about to roll into theaters, many are beginning to wonder if Universal will ever stop making the action films. According to a new report, the finish line might be in sight, but there’s a whole lot more to do first.

According to Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr., the end of the series might begin with the return of director Justin Lin. Lin is responsible for every “Fast & Furious" film since “Tokyo Drift.” Many credit him with transforming the once-floundering franchise into one of the biggest box office draws of the decade.

After last year’s release of “Fast 6,” Lin exited the franchise. According to EW, he took issue with the studio wanting to release “Furious 7” only one year later. Despite his departure, Lin didn’t leave Universal on bad terms. Before Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass’ announcement of a new “Bourne” movie, Lin was signed on to direct “Bourne Legacy 2” starring Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross. To replace him for “Furious 7,” the studio brought in “The Conjuring” director James Wan.

With “Bourne Legacy 2” on hold and “The Conjuring 2” set to film in the coming months, it looks like whatever “Furious 8” (a.k.a. “Fast & Furious 8,” or “Fast 8”) decides to be, Lin could be on board to direct.

As IGN notes, the only items on the director’s plate are directing the first two episodes of season two of HBO’s “True Detective.” So, with Lin possibly making a return to the Vin Diesel-led films, the question becomes, what’s next for the “Furious” franchise?

According to Fleming’s report, Universal is likely looking to film a multi-part finale all at once. Smart money says it will be two more movies that will use “Furious 7” as a jumping off point. It’s worth noting that Fleming’s report, which seems to be the catalyst for all of this finale talk, does not cite anyone from the studio. Instead, he humbly offers that the information comes from what he hears. At this point, there’s no telling what’s in store for Dominic Toretto and his crew in the future. What we do know is that “Furious 7” hits theaters April 3, 2015.