7 Oct – A recent update on Vin Diesel's Facebook shows that the actor has found the perfect director to helm the final trilogy of his "Fast and Furious" franchise. Previously, Diesel mentioned in his posts that he was eyeing Rob Cohen, director of the first "Fast and Furious" movie, for the upcoming movies and even toyed with the idea of directing them himself. However, as it turned out there was already a shortlist of directors for the job and F. Gary Gray was the final choice, beating the likes of Louis Leterrier ("Clash of the Titans", "Now You See Me") and William Eubank ("The Signal"). Gray is reportedly Universal's first choice, according to Deadline, and negotiations between the director and the studio begins soon.
Diesel, star and producer of the action franchise, commemorated the event by changing his Facebook's cover photo to one of him and Gray. Gray's resume as a director includes ten feature films, among them are 2003's "The Italian Job", which features an intense car chase – something "Fast and Furious" is definitely known for, and this year's "Straight Outta Compton". The N.W.A biopic drama made a worldwide gross of USD196.4 million against its USD28 million budget, based on Box Office Mojo stats. Sounds like Gray is the man to lead the "Fast and Furious" franchise, which has thus far grossed USD3.9 billion worldwide. (Photo source: VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images)