Vin Diesel
Cast member Vin Diesel poses at the premiere of "Furious 7" at the TCL Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California April 1, 2015. The movie opens in the U.S. on April 3. Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

Actor and producer Vin Diesel confirmed Sunday that the Fast & Furious franchise will end with a trilogy of films. Diesel announced the news on his Facebook page, stating that Universal Studios has been “good to [him]” and trusted him with the vision for “Fast & Furious.”

The actor even described the people behind the movie franchise as “family,” before stating a promise that he made with the studio. “I promised the studio I would deliver one last Trilogy to end the saga,” he said.

The “XXX” star also clarified that he won’t be directing the eight installment to the franchise, “Fast 8,” despite urgings from his producing partner, Neal Moritz. Diesel stated in his Facebook post that “Fast & Furious” is “too special a franchise” and that these matters need to be “very carefully handled.”

However, the project has yet to find a director to lead the film. Diesel wrote, “To be clear, NO ONE has been offered to helm Fast 8 yet... let alone seen a script.”

Meanwhile, an earlier report from The Hollywood Reporter (THR) stated that the studio has been encountering challenges in bringing to life the eight installment of “Fast & Furious.” Sources told THR that “Furious 7” director James Wan declined to direct “Fast 8” even after Universal offered a “rich plea” to have the director lead at least one more movie.

Apart from conflict in schedules due to Wan’s directorial project for “The Conjuring” sequel, insiders revealed that directing “Furious 7” took a toll on Wan’s health.

In addition, THR sources claimed that Wan found Diesel an “extraordinarily difficult” actor to work with. The “Fast & Furious” star and producer was said to have questioned even small details about action sequences and was known to have repeated late-night sessions with filmmakers to discuss his character’s role and lines. However, both Diesel and Wan’s representatives denied the claims.

Universal Studios and Diesel have yet to announce who they are eyeing to direct the “Fast & Furious” trilogy films. Although the actor did mention in his Facebook page that he will announce the directors in a next post.

“Fast 8” is scheduled to hit theaters on April 14, 2017.

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