Fast 8 Latest News and Updates: Paul Walker Appearance, Potential Oscar Material?

Oct 22, 2016 12:44 AM EDT

The Fast & Furious movie franchise banks on high octane action with some pretty likeable characters, although we would not rule out the fact that there are some sick looking cars and extremely charismatic extras that are simply make the entire set up work. So far, all seven movies have made quite a fair sum of money at the box office, with the last installment, Fast and Furious, being a tear jerker since everyone knew that it was the late Paul Walker’s final Fast & Furious movie ever after passing away in a tragic (and ironic) motor accident. Which leads us to this: Fast 8. Fast 8 is touted to be the upcoming movie from the franchise, and you can be sure that The Rock, Vin Diesel, and other memorable actors and actresses would be making an appearance with even more unbelievable movie stunts and driving capers which defy logic and most probably, gravity.

Auto Blog claims that , the upcoming installment will ditch the fun and popcorn friendly storyline, but rather, adhere to a darker one. Not only that, the very presence of director F. Gary Gray might be another name behind the scenes which will draw even more viewers, thanks to his renown for churning out movies which are of a high standard. Will he have the chops to up the ante with Fast 8, and if so, how will he be able to achieve so without having to rewrite the history of the franchise?

Vin Diesel thinks Fast 8 is Oscar material
Normally, we would not think of a movie franchise like Fast & Furious to be worthy of bagging an Oscar. Heck, it is not as though the actors and actresses in there are compelled to provide an emotionally connected character, but credit to them for putting their heart and soul to date. It simply defies logic that a Fast & Furious movie is going to pick up an Oscar where acting is concerned, but we would not hold it against them if they won a technical Oscar that involves visual effects or for sound, although the competition there would also be no less fierce. Vin Diesel, who plays one of the main protagonists Toretto in the film franchise, claims that his character would be walking a dark and lonely path in Fast 8. Toretto is struggling, as his emotions are in turmoil after his good friend and brother-in-law Brian O'Conner retired.

Diesel mentioned, “Fast 8 is different. It's very dark. My character is conflicted in a way that is really going to shock you. He's coming off of a lot of emotion from 7 and the loss that 7 represents. It's kind of cold-blooded. It's going to hit you like a ton of bricks.”

Diesel continued further about Oscar suitability for Fast 8 while giving bouquets to director F. Gary Gray,"He is definitely going to get his comeuppance ... He should've really been acknowledged for 'Straight Outta Compton'. I think he went into making this movie with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, going 'Oh, really? OK. Now I'm going to take the biggest saga in the world, and I'm about to throw Oscars at you.' Wait until you see what he does!"

In the meantime, perhaps it would be nice to revisit the Fast & Furious series in a boxed Blu-ray or DVD collection to refresh your memory on all that has passed before Fast 8 hits the silver screen.