Cinema history has incredible debut films by legendary and iconic filmmakers, including Sam Mendes’ American Beauty, George Miller’s Mad Max, Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane, and George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. However, Black directors aren't mentioned among these names often, though Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It, Mario Van Peebles’s New Jack City and Malcolm D. Lee’s The Best Man are a few classic Black filmmaker debuts.

So, here are eight fantastic debut films by Black directors who knocked it out of the park.

Kasi Lemmons - Eve's Bayou (1997)

Eve's Bayou is a genre-bending horror classic that became a critical and commercial success, placing high on multiple greatest films lists, including one of the best Black horror movies. It and Lemmons became festival favorites while scoring recognition from the National Board of Review, the Independent Spirit Awards and more.

Hollywood rarely gives Black female filmmakers many chances to direct and knock it out of the park. However, actress-turned-director Kasi Lemmons proved the naysayers wrong with the 1997 horror film. The Southern Gothic drama became one of the most successful independent films.

The movie drew from Lemmons’ childhood trips to Louisiana while incorporating her complicated upbringing. These aspects formed an intricate and intriguing story about Eve Batiste and her wealthy family’s life of trauma, tragedy, and lies in 1960s Louisiana. Lemmons offered a new dimension to the horror genre by integrating family drama and Black spirituality and mysticism.

Before her directorial debut, the Caveman’s Valentine director had done one short film. That and Lemmons' acting career were an excellent training ground as the feature showcased snappy direction and genre-bending writing. Her Hollywood and theatre days worked in her favor as Debbi Morgan, Samuel L. Jackson, and Lynn Whitfield played significant roles, and she got outstanding performances from Meagan Good, Jurnee Smollett, Diahann Carroll and Ethel Ayler.

Jordan Peele - Get Out (2017)

Some directors can hop from genre to genre without much error, and Jordan Peele’s debut let us know he's able to do the same. Going from outlandish comedies to psychological horror proved the right move, as he released one of the best films from the 21st century, 2017’s Get Out.

Peele wrote and produced film and TV comedies before directing the Oscar-winning film. The first-time filmmaker used his personal experiences and the 1975 movie, Stepford Wives, to craft a screenplay filled with racial and social commentary. He saw the parallels between comedy and horror by telling the story of a young Black man meeting his white partner’s family while uncovering astonishing and nefarious secrets.

Peele’s directorial debut used his prior work to inform the psychological horror’s sharp, satirical writing and brilliant layered direction. This approach led to an excellent first film by a great director. Outstanding performances from Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield, and more only solidified his brilliance.

The modern-day masterpiece became a critical and commercial success despite its small budget. It spawned a pop culture phenomenon and was an awards-season darling. Both Peele and the film scored award recognition from Critics’ Choice, National Board of Review, Independent Spirit, NAACP Image, DGA, and WGA awards. The Us filmmaker became the first Black director to score Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Director, and Original Screenplay (winning the latter).

Julie Dash - Daughters of the Dust (1992)

Some directorial debuts leave impressions on generations, like the 1992 experimental movie Daughters of the Dust. With it, Julie Dash became the first Black woman to direct a theatrical release.

Before directing the classic film, Dash wrote and directed several seminal short films, including Illusions. The filmmaker drew from her father’s Gullah background and the Great Migration to develop and pen the script over several years. She has interwoven three generations of women’s stories during American upheaval in the period drama.

Telling a unique story allowed Dash to use a non-linear narrative and the Gullah dialect for beautiful direction and lush visuals. The film’s experimental nature translated to transformative performances from the union and non-union stars, including Cora Lee Day, Kaycee Moore, Alva Rogers, and Cheryl Lynn Bruce.

The movie was a critical success while getting a limited theatrical release. In the years since, it's influenced other works, most notably Beyonce’s seminal visual album Lemonade. The film garnered Dash praise at Sundance before entering the National Film Registry in 2004.

Jeymes Samuel - The Harder They Fall (2021)

Making the jump from one medium to another can be daunting for any filmmaker, but Jeymes Samuel’s The Harder They Fall proves it can be easy. The revisionist film revived the all-Black western, a first since the mid-1990s.

Before his feature debut, Samuel directed several notable short films and music videos. His years behind the camera came through in Samuels' script with co-writer Boaz Yoakin. The script translated to Samuel transporting notable Black Western figures into a storyline filled with revenge, gunslinging, and Wild West adventures.

Samuel’s artistic background mixed old-school Western tropes with contemporary direction and styling. This approach led to brilliant direction filled with visual Easter eggs and one of the best Black movie soundtracks. His entertainment connections worked well for him in nabbing the film’s all-star cast, including Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, LaKeith Stanfield, Delroy Lindo, Edi Gathegi, RJ Cyler, and Danielle Deadwyler.

The drama was a critical success while getting a limited theatrical release. However, it went straight to streaming and became a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. The film and Samuels garnered recognition from BAFTA, NBR, NAACP Image, Critics’ Choice, and Satellite awards.

John Singleton - Boyz N the Hood (1991)

Hollywood doesn’t often give young black filmmakers the chance to shine. However, that wasn’t the case for celebrated auteur John Singleton, who made a good movie on his first try. He came out the gate swinging and elevated the hood film genre with one of the best 1990s movies, Boyz N the Hood.

Unlike other directorial debuts, Singleton was fresh out of USC Film School, where he wrote the screenplay. His Hollywood introduction drew from his South Central Los Angeles upbringing and the coming-of-age film Stand By Me. These aspects informed the crime drama, showing teen Tre Styles’ life growing up surrounded by gang culture.

Singleton’s film degree came through in his cutting-edge filmmaking, mixing sentimental stories with action-packed violence, intimacy, and honest depictions. The first-time director had Hollywood inroads after working as a TV intern with Ice Cube and Laurence Fishburne. He navigated directing seasoned and upcoming performers like Tyra Ferrell, Angela Bassett, Cuba Gooding Jr, Morris Chestnut, Regina King, and Nia Long.

Singleton’s approach worked, as the coming-of-age drama became a critical and commercial success. He secured recognition from the National Board of Review, NAACP Image Awards, and WGA. He even scored Academy Award nominations, including being the first Black person and youngest director in the Best Director race. The film cemented its importance after being inducted into the National Film Registry.

Gordon Parks - The Learning Tree (1969)

Black directors filming major studio movies wouldn’t be possible without late premier multihyphenate Gordon Parks. He became the first Black director to helm a studio production with 1969’s The Learning Tree.

Parks was already a celebrated photojournalist before branching off into different mediums. He eventually penned his semi-autobiographical novel, which became the basis for his screenplay. The multifaceted creative stayed true to the book by portraying Newt Winger’s journey into young Black manhood in 1920s Kansas.

Park’s celebrated photography career translated into the film’s beautiful, lush visuals with attentive direction. His direction and traditional structure allowed Parks to get a career breakthrough performance from Kyle Johnson with notable performances from Estelle Evans, Felix Nelson, Mira Waters, and Alex Clarke.

Park’s debut laid the foundation for future Black directors, becoming a hit with critics and audiences. The film cemented its significance in exploring race and social justice by being selected for the National Film Registry.

Ryan Coogler - Fruitvale Station (2013)

Young Black directors often must toil away in Hollywood for years before their big break. However, this wasn’t the case for filmmaking wunderkind Ryan Coogler. He made his feature debut with the 2013 biopic, Fruitvale Station.

Much like John Singleton, Coogler was a USC Film School student when the tragic story of Oscar Grant caught his attention. His interest in Grant’s story and connection to the slain man’s family allowed him to develop and craft the screenplay as a Sundance Screenwriters Lab participant. All the work paid off, as Coogler made a great movie that follows the ex-con on his final New Year’s Eve before his tragic 2009 murder.

Coogler’s studies came through, as he mixed amateur footage with professional film to tell Grant’s story. His edgy direction and linear storytelling allowed the Bay Area to be a character. He even got breakthrough performances out of Michael B. Jordan (in one of his best movies) and Melonie Diaz, with outstanding supporting roles from Octavia Spencer, Kevin Durand, and Chad Michael Murray.

His first film was a critical success that became a sleeper hit. The movie and the Black Panther director became Sundance and Cannes favorites before getting recognition from organizations, including NBR, Independent Spirit, and Satellite. The biopic’s message resonated with audiences, earning a Humanitas Prize.

F. Gary Gray - Friday (1995)

Hopping from music videos to feature films became routine in the 1990s, with F. Gary Gray leading the charge. Gray got a chance to make his directorial debut with one of the best 1990s comedies, Friday.

As mentioned before, Gray filmed music videos for top rap stars like Ice Cube. This connection secured Gray the job. His direction and Ice Cube’s writing illustrated the daily life of Craig Jones on a Friday after getting fired, inspired by Cube and co-writer DJ Pooh’s real-life experiences.

Gray’s music video background paid off, as he incorporated techniques like fast-cutting, strange angles, and coloration. His smooth and cutting-edge style was different at the time, influencing future directors. His direction brought out the best in the cast, including Cube, John Witherspoon, Fazion Love, Paula Jai Parker, and AJ Johnson. He also got a breakout performance from Chris Tucker.

His debut feature received positive notice and became a sleeper hit. The film cornered the market on the culture of the times – a cult following, pop culture ubiquity, and internet presence – especially as a film featuring a rapper.

These outstanding directorial debuts left an impression on generations of moviegoers. Hopefully, these Black debut films and others will get more recognition outside their cult followings. Things have changed since these films arrived as more Black directors garner immediate notice for their filmmaking achievements.

There are incredible Black directorial debuts on the 2024 movie schedule. Kobi Libii’s The American Society of Magical Negroes made an interesting debut earlier this year. Zoe Kravitz got behind the camera for the acclaimed Blink Twice. Just in time for awards season, Titus Kaphar’s Exhibiting Forgiveness is garnering acclaim and Oscar buzz from Sundance before its theatrical release on October 8. Hopefully, more outstanding debuts will be coming to theaters or streaming in 2025 and beyond.

Kevin Hart has stayed busy in front of the camera, with 2023 providing fans of the comedian with the action-comedy Die Hart, more conversations with fellow celebs on his Peacock show Hart to Heart and the popular documentary Headliners Only with Chris Rock. Don’t think he’s slowing down in the new year, either, because his newest offering Lift is now available to stream with a Netflix subscription. Critics had the chance to screen the movie ahead of its release, so let’s see if this is one you’ll want to fire up this weekend.

Teaming up with The Fate of the Furious director F. Gary Gray, Kevin Hart stars in Lift as Cyrus, a criminal mastermind whose crew is trying to pull off a $500 million heist during an international flight. Let’s get to the reviews, with Molly Edwards of GamesRadar saying that Hart gives a surprisingly low-key performance in a funny but by-the-book action flick. Edwards rates the film 3 stars out of 5, writing: 

Erick Massoto of Collider gives the movie a 2 out of 10, questioning the decision to make Kevin Hart’s character the only serious one. The supporting cast isn’t up to carrying the comedy, Massoto says, and while Hart is still entertaining to watch, the heist itself is “okay at best.” The critic continues: 

Samantha Bergeson of IndieWire says it’s difficult to think of Lift as anything but a paycheck for Kevin Hart, as F. Gary Gray’s movie plays out like a color-by-numbers parody. The critic grades the movie a D+, writing: 

Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com rates Lift 2 stars out of 4, admitting that the movie’s premise is interesting enough, but the lack of any character development makes it difficult to care whether or not the heist is successful. Lemire says: 

Kenneth Seward Jr. of IGN gives the film a “Mediocre” 5 out 10, also saying there’s nothing here to make home audiences remember the movie once they’ve returned to the Netflix home screen. Lower your expectations for this one, Seward says, because the potential of the talented cast and fun premise remains unfulfilled. The critic continues: 

These critics all seem to agree that Lift doesn’t deliver as wholeheartedly as they would have liked. However, an under-two-hours streaming option starring Kevin Hart will still be worth checking out for many. If you would like to give it a go, Lift is available to stream now, and be sure to check out what else is new and coming soon to Netflix. You can also start planning your next trip to the theater by checking out our 2024 movie calendar. 

Early last year, Kevin Hart committed to a major four-picture deal with Netflix, and lately the actor has been hard at work making one of those movies so we can later laugh our butts off in the comfort of our own homes. Hart's newest movie has brought him to beautiful Italy, and the actor has been sharing some epic views from the filming of the upcoming release. The views are mind blowing! 

Throughout the past week, Kevin Hart has updated fans on his beautiful vacation to Italy for a movie called Lift. Check out one of a few views I’m already obsessed with that he posted on Instagram: 

Kevin Hart shared that the movie he’s working on right now is “special,” while sharing a gorgeous black and while photo of himself on the set of Lift next to some beautiful buildings. He also shared this one off the coast alongside his wife of nearly six years, Eniko Parrish: 

The actor and comedian also took to social media to show off a picture of him posing in vacation wear and calling himself “Keviano.” See the actor in light flowy clothing and a scarf, looking Italian: 

Lift is an action movie directed by F. Gary Gray, who previously helmed The Italian Job, The Fate of the Furious and Straight Outta Compton. The movie also stars Loki actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Daredevil’s Vincent D’Onofrio and Made For Love’s Billy Magnussen. It’s reportedly about a female master thief and her ex-boyfriend, who team up to steal $100 million in gold bullion being transported on a 777 passenger flight. Perhaps Hart is the ex-boyfriend? That has yet to be announced, but just look at these views though? 

Along with starring in Lift, Kevin Hart is producing the movie alongside X-Men’s Simon Kinberg and The Batman’s Matt Reeves among others. Hart recently combined his movie and television production companies to form HartBeat, which he mentions in that first post. Hart has already produced a number of his movies and specials, and has many other projects on the way he also is heavily involved with both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. 

Before we see Lift, the next Kevin Hart movie will be The Man from Toronto, which is heading to Netflix soon. The Sony flick was originally set for theaters, but has since shifted to a streaming release this summer. The action comedy stars Hart alongside Woody Harrelson, with Harrelson play ingthe “world’s deadliest assassin” and Hart playing “New York's biggest screw-up.” When they are mistaken for one another at an Airbnb rental, comedy ensues. You can check out the movie with a Netflix subscription on June 24. 

Fans of Hart can also look forward to Hart’s voice in DC League of Super-Pets alongside Dwayne Johnson’s this summer, as well as a comedy called Me Time coming out in August and the Borderlands movie coming out at a yet-to-be-revealed date. 

After suffering major injuries during a tragic car accident in late 2019, Kevin Hart once reflected that it “felt like God told me to sit down.” The actor underwent spinal surgery and went through 18 months of intensive physical therapy to get him back to his hilarious and quick-witted self we see on the big and small screen. But now that he's up, it doesn’t look like he’ll be sitting down anytime soon. Hart has signed on for yet another Netflix project, and this time it’s an action heist film with The Fate of the Furious director F. Gary Gray.

Kevin Hart will lead a film called Lift set to be helmed by F. Gary Gray, who also directed movies like Straight Outta Compton, The Italian Job and Set It Off. The action movie was picked up by Netflix last year, but now it will be part of Hart’s ongoing business with the streaming service that just keeps giving. Lift will see Hart playing an expert thief who is asked to pull off an “impossible heist” during an international flight at the request of his ex-girlfriend and the FBI, per Deadline.

Lift is already set to start production at the beginning of 2022, right after Kevin Hart’s current work on the Netflix comedy Me Time with Mark Wahlberg. The movie will also include an “international crew” that will assist Hart on his heist from London to Zurich, but they have yet to be cast. Lift has some big talent producing the film as well, with The Batman’s Matt Reeves and X-Men’s Simon Kinberg with their names on the film.

F. Gary Gray famously directed 2017’s The Fate of the Furious before bringing the  Men In Black film series back with 2019's Men in Black International, starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson (which didn’t exactly impress). He already had another film lined up, an action comedy called Muscle with Vin Diesel, but since the actor is heading into the 10th Fast movie at the beginning of the year, he has time to jump to Lift first with Kevin Hart.

Kevin Hart recently finished production on the video game adaptation of Borderlands earlier this year and he also recently shot a mini-series called True Story for Netflix. The latter is a drama that will team Hart with Wesley Snipes in a show that has them playing brothers, and it's set to come out later this year. He’s currently working on Me Time, along with a guest spot on Shark Tank on the way. Oh, and his new Peacock talk show Hart to Heart also recently launched.

To add to the laundry list, you can also expect to see the actor in an action movie called The Man From Toronto alongside Woody Harrelson, and he’s also signed up to be in the remake of Planes, Trains and Automobiles with Will Smith. If you’re a fan of the comedian, there’s no shortage of Kevin Hart in the next couple years.

Video games have become the next big source of material for big screen adaptation, something which is somewhat surprising considering the difficulty that filmmakers have had transforming said games into movies so far. We recently saw the first trailer for the forthcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie, and on the heels of that comes news that director F. Gary Gray is now in development on a movie based on the Saints Row franchise.

The Saints Row games have covered four installments with the first game being released in 2006 and the fourth coming out in 2013. The storyline follows a street gang called the Third Street Saints as they battle rival gangs for control of terf, become a multimedia conglomerate, and eventually battle space aliens who have invaded the planet earth.

As you can tell by that description, the Saints Row games get a little... weird. Originally, the games were little more than Grand Theft Auto clones. You moved throughout an open world city completing missions, that usually involved committing crimes, in order to progress the story.

However, as the series progressed, it found a way to stand out from its competition by completely shifting its tone. While the basic game structure remained the same, missions and plots became more over the top and wild. The addition of, frequently mature, humor not found in Grand Theft Auto helped the series find a fan base all its own which has made Saints Row one of the more popular recent game franchises of the last few years.

If you require an example of the exact nature of Saints Row, let me direct you to part of the opening sequence of Saints Row IV, in which your character successfully disarms a nuclear weapon while riding the missile and Aerosmith's "Don't Want to Miss a Thing" plays in the background. No, this doesn't make any more sense if you've played the game.

According to Deadline, Greg Russo, who is also handling the script for the planned Mortal Kombat movie reboot is also writing the Saints Row movie.

While the Fast and Furious franchise may not have quite reached the level of camp that the Saints Row games embrace quite yet, those films have certainly become a little more insane themselves in recent years.

In The Fate of the Furious our heroes drive on ice while being chased by a submarine and The Rock diverts a torpedo with his bare hands. That's just the sort of thing you might expect to see in a Saints Row game.

And so, it's perfect to know that the director of The Fate of the Furious, F. Gary Gray, is looking at directing a Saints Row movie. The franchise basically requires over the top, slightly bonkers stunts and action, so Gray might be the perfect man to pull off such a film.

The joke has been that the only thing left for the Fast and Furious franchise to do is go to space. Considering the most recent Saints Row game did exactly that, we could essentially get a Fast and Furious in space movie without the actual film franchise having to get quite that extreme.

F. Gary Gray's most recent film Men in Black International is getting ready to debut in June. It sounds like Saints Row could be his next project.

There's a lot to love in The Fate of the Furious, but one of the most universally praised aspects of the entire film is the relationship between Hobbs (The Rock) and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) as they hunt Dom (Vin Diesel) around the globe. The two action icons have established themselves as one of the best pairings in the entire franchise, which has led many fans to clamor for a spin-off centering solely on their dynamic. Now it seems that director F. Gary Gray has heard these demands, and he's on board with the idea. The director recently sounded off on the possibility in a commentary track for The Fate of the Furious' newly released Blu-ray, saying:

While this is a decision that will ultimately be made by the folks at Universal, it's hard not to agree with F. Gary Gray on this matter. As the Fast and Furious franchise moves into more outlandish territory, it becomes increasingly more important to introduce characters who can convincingly convey the newly ramped up stakes. With these films moving away from street racing as a core concept, and more towards international espionage, career soldiers and spies like Shaw and Hobbs simply feel like logical focal points and protagonists for future adventures. Even if Dom and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) continue to headline the main Fast and Furious films, a spin-off for these two alpha males still seems like a no-brainer.

Aside from their delightfully antagonistic (yet somehow brotherly) chemistry with one another, a pairing of Hobbs and Shaw could also work because they fundamentally bring two different stylistic approaches to the table when it comes to action. Elsewhere in The Fate of the Furious' commentary, F. Gary Gray highlighted the prison break sequence as a perfect example of that concept, saying:

Think about it; you would probably already be tempted to see a big, loud, and bombastic Dwayne Johnson blockbuster, as well as a more precise Jason Statham martial arts movie within the same year anyway. With a Hobbs and Shaw team-up, you will get two for the price of one. Think of the savings!

Whether or not Shaw and Hobbs will team up for an ass-kicking adventure remains to be seen, but their on-screen chemistry in The Fate of the Furious definitively proves that it could work. F. Gary Gray's Fast and Furious film is currently available on DVD, Blu-ray, and Digital HD, so make sure to pick up your copy. Beyond that, check out our movie premiere guide for more information related to 2017's major theatrical releases.

By the end of The Fate Of The Furious, fans of the franchise found themselves torn. While Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw had wowed viewers with his antics, helping to thwart Cipher (Charlize Theron) and saving Vin Diesel's child from her grasp, he was still the man that murdered Han Lue (Sung Kang) and fought valiantly against the Toretto crew in Furious 7. Because of his past antics, some Fast And Furious die-hards soon began a Justice For Han campaign, which protested the rise of Deckard Shaw. Director F. Gary Gray has now addressed this controversy, admitting that The Fate Of The Furious could have done more to address his past. F. Gary Gray admitted:

Clearly those involved in The Fate Of The Furious have taken notice of the uproar created by Deckard becoming cozy with the rest of the gang. But while F. Gary Gray refused to admit to Screen Rant that the film made a catastrophic mistake by not addressing it, he at least suggests that they will do just that in the ninth and tenth installments to the franchise.

But what could The Fate Of The Furious actually have done to address the elephant in the room that was that Deckard killed Han? Well, the likes of Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) could have had a bigger problem with Deckard when he was brought onto the gang. By the end of The Fate Of The Furious, the latter's bromance with him was so rife that you thought it actually might end in a smooch. Then to top it all off, they all gather together for a beer, and no one even bothers to mention the fact that Deckard Shaw had killed their close friend just a couple of years earlier.

There have already been suggestions that Fast And Furious 9 and 10 will tackle this rather sensitive subject. That's because it has already been confirmed that Han Lue will somehow be bringing Han back. We're still not exactly sure if this will entail seeing him in person (like through a flashback or as a ghost) or if he'll merely be readdressed, but this will undoubtedly see Deckard Shaw confronted with his actions. We'll find out what goes down when Fast And The Furious 9 is released on April 19, 2019, while the tenth installment will follow on April 2, 2021.

One of the major benefits of home video releases is the opportunity to release versions of a particular film that couldn't make their way into theaters. This was evidently something that director F. Gary Gray kept in mind during the post-production process on The Fate of the Furious, and as a result the Blu-ray will include a special Director's Cut. But what differences can fans expect? The filmmaker explained it to me thusly:

With The Fate of the Furious arriving on Blu-ray on July 11th, I recently had the opportunity to hop on the phone with F. Gary Gray to talk about his new film -- and our conversation eventually turned to the special home video cut. Referring to it as his preferred version of the movie, he confirmed that it was put together at the same time as the theatrical version, but that the longer cut "enhances" his favorite aspect of storytelling: the comedy.

Curious by his quote about including edgy humor, I noted that the Directors Cut of Fate of the Furious is unrated, and inquired there was anything in it that might have forced the feature to receive an R-rating. F. Gary Gray told me that the line isn't quite pushed that far, but also acknowledged that the movie he created is already more mature in its tone than its series predecessors. Said Gray,

So if the Director's Cut features footage that improves the humor and the action of The Fate of the Furious in the eyes of its helmer, why didn't that version make its way into theaters? Gray admitted that the extended version doesn't quite have the same pacing as the theatrical edit, but also feels that it gives the movie what it needs.

Fans will have the opportunity to own their very own copy of The Fate of the Furious' Director's Cut very soon, as the Blu-ray will be arriving on shelves this Tuesday. For more from my interview with director F. Gary Gray, head over HERE to read his quotes about the Dwayne Johnson vs. Vin Diesel vs. Jason Statham fight that never came together.

The Fate Of The Furious is totally overloaded with stars and major action sequences to dazzle and thrill audiences... but as it happens we evidently missed out on potentially one of the most badass movie fights of the modern era. This is because there was originally a plan to have the movie feature a three way battle between Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), Hobbes (Dwayne Johnson) and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) that never came to be due to budget and schedule concerns. Director F. Gary Gray recently revealed to me,

In The Fate of the Furious, we get to see some good one-on-one battles between Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson, as well as Johnson and Vin Diesel, but sadly we don't ever get to see the three of them get together at any point and exchange blows. I learned about this scene that never was yesterday when I had the pleasure of hopping on the phone with F. Gary Gray in advance of the movie's upcoming home video release, and discussed how the film wound up changing through development. I specifically asked if there was one thing that he really wanted to see from early drafts find its way into the finished cut of the movie, and it was the Statham vs. The Johnson vs. Diesel battle that he was eager to highlight.

Gary Gray didn't go into a whole lot of detail in the short interview about where the scene would have taken place within the movie -- and thinking back on it you do wonder how it would have fit in. After all, Dominic Toretto is separated from Hobbes and Deckard for most of the movie, as he is off being evil with Charlize Theron's Cipher while the other two try work with the main ensemble to try and find a way to stop him. The director says that scheduling and pacing were the issues that the scene wound up facing before getting cut, but it's hard not to wonder if perhaps the sequence may have felt forced within the plot, just trying to get the three way battle to happen on the big screen.

Of course, the Dominic Toretto/Hobbes/Deckard Shaw fight wasn't the only thing that wound up not making it into the finished version of The Fate of the Furious, as F. Gary Gray told me that the film actually went through a good number of changes before being presented as the finished product that we saw on the big screen a few months ago. Said the director,

Sadly the Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel, and Jason Statham fight was never filmed, but audiences will soon be treated to a version of The Fate of the Furious that is even more action-packed. When the movie is released on Blu-ray and DVD, it will also provide fans with the opportunity to watch the special director's cut, which is 13 minutes longer and, according to F. Gary Gray, is a bit more action heavy and funnier. Stay tuned for more details on that front, and look for the eighth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise everywhere on July 11th.

The Fate Of The Furious just keeps on chugging away at the box office. In fact, it shows no signs of abating, as yesterday it crossed the $1 billion mark after just 17 days in cinemas. But while it looks on course to rival Furious 7 as the most successful installment to the Fast And The Furious franchise, it has now crossed one movie landmark that everyone can appreciate. That's because the movie's director F. Gary Gray just became the first African American director to make over a billion dollars at the box office.

The outrageous box office success of The Fate Of The Furious means that F. Gary Gray has left his competitors in his dust. Previously the highest grossing film from an African American director was Peter Ramsey, as Rise Of The Guardians made $306 million at the box office back in 2012. John Singleton was second, and is now third, courtesy of 2 Fast 2 Furious's $236 million, and then came F. Gary Gray with Straight Outta Compton, which ultimately grossed $201.6 million.

It's not surprising that F. Gary Gray has achieved such success with The Fate Of The Furious, as his eclectic career is full of films that have thrived financially. Out of the nine films that he has overseen only 1998's The Negotiator failed to match its budget, while A Man Apart was deemed a disappointment as it grossed just $44 million from its $36 million production costs. However, The Italian Job, Be Cool, and Law Abiding Citizen collectively returned $398 million from combined costs of $166 million, while Friday, Set It Off, and Straight Outta Compton went one step further by achieving critical notoriety as well as excelling at the box office. In fact, while they cost just $62.5 million to make all together they grossed over $270.1 million.

It was the success of Straight Outta Compton back in August 2015 that convinced Vin Diesel to pursue F. Gary Gray about reteaming for a film, after the pair previously worked on A Man Apart. While The Fate Of The Furious' reviews might not have quite matched those received by Furious 7, it hasn't stopped audiences from flocking to see the blockbuster, as its high-octane and frankly ridiculous but nevertheless enjoyable action sequences have proved just too alluring for audiences.

The big question now is whether or not F. Gary Gray is actually going to return for one or possibly even two of the already confirmed sequels to The Fate Of The Furious. Considering the box office success of The Fate Of The Furious you'd imagine he'd be right at the top of Universal's list of choices. Since the ninth installment to the Fast And Furious franchise is due out on April 19, 2019, we can probably expect an answer by the end of the summer or towards the end of the year so that production on the film can swing into action in 2018.

Some movies are so massive that the competition doesn't even bother coming to play. We have one of those situations going on this weekend, but the big blockbuster coming to the plate is indeed a guaranteed home run at the box office. Get ready for The Fate of the Furious. It's gonna be a Rotten Week!

Just remember, I'm not reviewing these movies, but rather predicting where they'll end up on the Tomatometer. Let's take a look at This Rotten Week has to offer.

The Fast & Furious franchise represents what I believe to be a perfect example of how critics shift expectations to a series. There aren't many fundamental differences between the first four chapters and the most recent four, except that the stunts get a little bigger and bolder. That being said, the first four blockbusters averaged a 39% on the Tomatometer, while the last three have averaged a 75%. What changed? The addition of Dwayne Johnson is one thing, but there's also the factor of how critics view the franchise. By the time Fast Five (77%) came out, no one was taking the adventures seriously and decided to go along for the ride. It continued with Fast & Furious 6 (69%) and Furious 7 (79%), and now we have chapter eight, The Fate of the Furious.

The new film brings together the monster ensemble that's been building over the years, new faces in Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren, a solid director in F. Gary Gray (Straight out of Compton - 87%, The Italian Job - 73%) and some awesome looking action. I'm always encouraged when critics and fans alike can take a movie at face value and embrace the positives while also remembering, hell we are just watching a movie. The Fate of the Furious should be fun, and while I don't think it will get the same reaction as the last three films, it will still get an overall positive response.

It wasn't a great week for the Rotten Watch last time around, with two misses to add to the resume. First up, I thought Going in Style (Predicted: 62% Actual: 44%) had a chance considering the moderately beloved cast and what looked to be some cute scenes about a group of bank-robbingbbing geezers. But it fell well short of the mark with critics. Most agreed it was good to see the three actors all on screen together, but that the plot and comedy were lacking. I get the sense that if this movie had three no name older actors playing the parts it would have finished much, much lower.

Meanwhile, I'm legit shocked about Smurfs: The Lost Village (Predicted: 14% Actual: 40%), which nearly doubled the score of pre-reboot predecessor, The Smurfs 2. This film looked positively horrible, and though 40% isn't something for most movies to write home about, it feels like it is for The Smurfs. I thought critics would outright despise it and quietly worried my 14% guess would be a little high. Turns out they merely disliked it. That's an important distinction.

Next time around we've got Born in China, Free Fire, Phoenix Forgotten, The Promise and Unforgettable. It's gonna be a Rotten Week!

While some franchises struggle to make it to Full Trilogy status, the Fast and Furious franchise is on the verge of doing it three times over. The eighth installment of the action series, The Fate of the Furious, is arriving in theaters this Friday, and anticipation is high with the movies being as popular as ever. That being said, past installments have a checkered past with film critics, so it's always a curiosity when reviews start to break for the new titles. We're now in the midst of getting that reaction as the first write-ups have started to arrive online, and it appears that the feelings are fairly mixed.

With about five days to go before director F. Gary Gray's The Fate of the Furious arrives in theaters, Universal Pictures has lifted the review embargo for the blockbuster, and so far the internet features opinions both disappointed and excited by movie number eight. Our own Greg Wakeman, in general, enjoyed the ride of Fate, writing in his review:

In his review for Variety, Owen Gleiberman questions whether the move away from the franchise's street racing origins has ultimately been a positive thing, but also notes that the new adventures is still thrilling in its own right:

While giving it a modest C- grade, David Ehrlich's review for Indiewire is far less kind to The Fate of the Furious. Many will agree that the franchise has a bit of a rocky history where quality is concerned, but Ehrlich calls it the worst movie that we've seen so far in the series, and says that it even goes as far as to undermine the key themes that have been hammered into audiences for 16 years:

Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Leah Greenblatt isn't exactly effusive about the film, but does give it a passing grade. In particular, she praises the performances and contributions of both Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, who were late additions to the franchises (arriving in Fast Five and Furious 7, respectively), but still wind up stealing the show from Vin Diesel and Co. In her Fate of the Furious review, she wrote:

Even with these reviews out in the atmosphere telling audiences that the film isn't exactly the best chapter yet, The Fate of the Furious is a film that will very likely wind up being critic-proof as it arrives in theaters this Friday, April 14th. That being said, have hearing about these reviews changed your expectations for the feature? Hit the comments section below with all of your thoughts, feelings and opinions, and stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more about the film.

When the first trailer for The Fate Of The Furious was released, fans were so blown away by the revelation that Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) had turned against his family and friends that they may not have noticed the humungous, action set-pieces it would entail. Fast And The Furious die-hards immediately began to wonder about the plot twist that had forced Dom to go rogue, which is exactly why director Straight Outta Compton's F. Gary Gray decided to sign up to oversee the blockbuster. F. Gary Gray recently detailed how he feels about the twist, noting he was immediately attracted to oversee The Fate Of The Furious because of it. Here is what he told CinemaBlend:

F. Gary Gray made this admission to me last week when I talked to the director over the phone about The Fate Of The Furious. Audiences clearly feel the same way, too. That's because when The Fate Of The Furious' trailer was originally released all the way back in December it quickly racked up the most views over the course of 24 hours than any previous trailer, as it was watched over 139 million times. Making Dom go up against the rest of his gang also allowed The Fate Of The Furious to come at the characters and their antics from a completely different angle, too, which--it is hoped--will rejuvenate and freshen up the franchise. That is no mean feat considering The Fate Of The Furious marks the eighth installment in the series.

Not that the Fast And The Furious franchise needs to be reinvigorated, because its last effort, Furious 7, was the most successful film of the series yet. Not only did it gross $1.516 billion at the box office, which was nearly twice as much as Fast & Furious 6's $789.2 million (the second highest haul in the franchise), it was also met with the best reviews that the series has ever had, too.

That's a high bar for The Fate Of The Furious to leap over. But its trailers suggest that it could actually do just that. Especially because of Dom Toretto's betrayal, but also because the film sees the gang roaring through New York City as well as The Rock pushing away a torpedo with one hand while Tyrese Gibson drives a jeep on some ice and avoids a submarine. You can whet your appetite for Fate Of The Furious by watching its trailer again below.

We'll get to see what else The Fate Of The Furious has in store for us when it finally hits theaters on April 14. Here's what else is hitting theaters soon.

The Flash may be The Fastest Man Alive, but his first solo theatrical movie is having trouble moving forward. Earlier this year, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter's Seth Grahame-Smith departed as director of The Flash, but he was soon replaced by Dope's Rick Famuyiwa. Unfortunately, on Monday it was announced that Famuyiwa exited the project due to "creative differences" (supposedly he wanted to do an edgier take than what Warner Bros and DC wanted). Now The Flash has lost two directors, and with only a few months to go until principal photography is set to begin, they need to find someone soon and, like the eponymous hero, they need to be fast.

While The Flash's situation behind the scenes is definitely troubling, we've come up with a list of candidates who would be worthy successors to Famuyiwa. They all come from different backgrounds, but they have what it takes to pick up the pieces and move forward to make this DC movie the best it can be. First up, let's start with someone who assisted DC's biggest rival in a time of need...

Adam McKay

Most of you know Adam McKay through his collaborations with Will Ferrell, like Anchorman and Step-Brothers. However, he does have some superhero experience under his belt thanks to re-writing the Ant-Man script with Paul Rudd. McKay is expected to also tackle the Ant-Man and the Wasp story, but as far as we know, that's the extent of his involvement. The Flash would be the prime opportunity for him to helm his own superhero movie, and if necessary, he can make adjustments to the script. For those who think McKay's body of work is too goofy for him to be a serious Flash contender, you need to check out his 2015 hit, The Big Short. That Academy Award-nominated movie proved he can handle a drama infused with comedy, which is something The Flash is expected to be.

Drew Goddard

Drew Goddard has waited a long time to fully oversee a superhero project. He was originally the showrunner for Daredevil and wrote the first two episodes of Season 1, but he left before shooting kicked off. He was also supposed to direct the Sinister Six movie, but after Sony scrapped the Amazing Spider-Man universe in favor of bringing a new Wall-Crawler into the MCU, that project was axed. Given his experience with science fiction, ranging from writing episodes of Lost to penning The Martian, The Flash would be an excellent movie for him to put his skills to work. After all, Flash is one of the more sci-fi heavy corners of the DC universe thanks to The Rogues, the Speed Force and more.

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon has spent most of his career in Hollywood as a second unit director, but he recently stretched his muscles as the man in charge helming 2014's The Town That Dreaded Sundown and 2015's Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. He would hopefully bring the same comedy-drama elements from that second movie to The Flash. Remember, just because one hasn't directed a blockbuster before doesn't mean they're not capable of delivering a good one on their first attempt. That was the case with Rick Famuyiwa, but because of his work on Dope, Warner Bros felt he would be a good fit for the Scarlet Speedster (for a time). The same could work for Gomez-Rejon, as long as he remembers to inject those quieter personal moments so the characters feel more real.

Lexi Alexander

Punisher: War Zone may not be the most beloved superhero movie, but many Punisher fans believe it was better than Frank Castle's 2004 movie and felt closer to the source material. The movie's director, Lexi Alexander, recently jumped back into the live action superhero game when she directed the Arrow episode "Beyond Redemption" and the Supergirl episode "Truth, Justice and the American Way." She was also one of the names tossed out for directing Wonder Woman years back. It's about time Alexander receives a second chance at helming a cinematic superhero tale. If you follow her on social media, you know she's a "think outside the box" kind of person, so ideally that means she would bring a unique flair to the Scarlet Speedster's first solo adventure.

Ruben Fleischer

From what we've learned so far, The Flash is aiming to be a lighter action movie, more similar to Suicide Squad than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Well, when it comes to that kind of tone, Ruben Fleischer would be in his wheelhouse. He has plenty of experience in the action-comedy realm from directing Zombieland (and its upcoming sequel) and 30 Minutes or Less. He also explored the world of organized crime through Gangster Squad, so helming a superhero movie would be an interesting step from there. As seen in Suicide Squad and the Justice League preview, this version of Barry Allen is more humorous, so you need someone who can effectively expand on his charm, as well as make sure the other characters have interesting personalities.

F. Gary Gray

F. Gary Gray has been directing movies since the 1990s, with his resume including Friday, The Italian Job and Law Abiding Citizen. However, the last few years have been particularly kind to him. Following the enormous success of Straight Outta Compton, he was tapped to direct Fast 8, which hits theaters on April 14, 2017. Needless to say he's on a role, so Warner Bros and DC would be wise to snatch him up for The Flash. He'll be hot off overseeing a high-octane adventure, and his other credits prove he knows how to make an exciting movie, which The Flash needs to be and then some. All this being said, if Gray is hired, Warner will need to delay blockbuster's principal photography, because currently its launch date overlaps with Fast 8's post-production period and press promotion.

Edgar Wright

Most of you reading this list know that Edgar Wright's past experience with superhero movies hasn't been great. In 2006, a few years before the Marvel Cinematic Universe launched, he boarded Ant-Man as its director, but in 2014, he departed the movie over "creative differences." It's understandable if he would be hesitant about trying his hand as another movie in this genre, but The Flash would nonetheless be an excellent opportunity for him. Not only is Wright more than capable of directing a funny movie, but he's also a comics fan, which is a nice bonus. Plus, look at his 2010 movie Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. It was frantic, funny and unique. That's what The Flash will be like...but with less absurdity. Things didn't work out with Marvel, but maybe Wright would have better luck at DC.

The eighth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise is well underway, with production currently filming in Cleveland. Fast 8 has the unenviable task of amping the action and stunts up even more than all the previous movies. It’s not an easy job at all, but based on this phone video taken by a lucky bystander, director F. Gary Gray is more than up to the task. Check out this street video of one of Fast 8’s stunts tearing up the peaceful streets of Cleveland.

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It just rains cats, dogs, and cars over in Cleveland. It’s impossible to decipher the context of this scene they’re filming, but it looks like some kind of chase scene is occurring and the ultimate roadblock interrupts it. It doesn't really matter why this stunt is happening, though, because it looks seriously cool. In the Fast and Furious franchise, a car is basically the ultimate weapon. They’ve been used for racing, drifting, hitting, leaping from buildings, and flinging people across chasms, so might as well have them rain down from the sky, too.

If this stunt is anything to go by, Fast 8 is shaping up to be another full throttle action movie. In my opinion, the cars skydiving and the following mountain chase from Furious 7 is the best action sequence in the entire franchise, so I’m curious to see if Fast 8 can top it. Cars falling from the sky is a pretty good start, though.

Everything we know so far about Fast 8 is centered around Vin Diesel and the crew getting torn down and pushed like never before. Charlize Theron’s villain Cipher is said to be a unique challenge and will take away everything the team cares for. Judging by the first photo and description of Dwayne Johnson’s Hobbs, she’s pretty successful at it. Other plot details are scarce, but it looks like Fast 8 is really pushing to be as much of an emotional challenge as it is a physical one.

F. Gary Gray is directing the eighth installment in the franchise with a script penned by Chris Morgan. Vin Diesel returns to star as Dominic Toretto alongside series regulars Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Dwayne Johnson, Nathalie Emmanuel, Kurt Russell and newcomers to the franchise Scott Eastwood and Charlize Theron. Fast 8 is scheduled to hit theaters on April 14, 2017.

What do you think of this stunt? Are the explosions freaking out the morning commuters of Cleveland? Out of curiosity, what do you think is the best action scene in the entire franchise? Sound off in the comments below.

Going places no one has ever been before sounds like a mission for team Star Trek. And yet, new plans for the developing Fast & Furious 8 suggest that Vin Diesel and his crew aim to break incredible new ground by applying to shoot scenes where no other major motion picture has gone before: Cuba.

According to a spokesperson for Universal Studios, as reported by Variety, Fast & Furious 8 is going through the proper channels so it can receive permission from the U.S. and Cuban governments to "explore shooting a portion" of the announced sequel on the island nation of Cuba. John Kavulich, senior policy adviser to the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, said of the deal:

From the perspective of the Fast & Furious franchise, they typically just like to shoot in locations that very few people have explored before on film. Ever since hitting the road in Los Angeles in the original movie, each sequel has shifted to new locations, from Florida (2 Fast, 2 Furious) or Tokyo (Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift) to South America (Fast Five), London Fast & Furious 6) and the Middle East (Furious 7). A trademark of the series has now become the exotic locations in which they are going to film, as well as the celebrity cameos and the ridiculous stunts.

If Cuba comes through, then Fast & Furious 8 will be an East Coast affair. Vin Diesel, when he first started talking about doing an eighth movie, has been vocal about bringing the action to New York City. From there, the island nation of Cuba would be a hop, skip and a catapulted automobile away. Maneuvering around Cuba might be difficult. As Variety notes, several modern amenities (like Internet, for example) are not yet available on the island. But that’s easily something producers could work around.

Cuba previously hosted Papa, an independent film starring Giovanni Ribisi, but Fast & Furious 8 would be the biggest film ever to shoot on the island. But it also could open the door to countless more movies looking to take advantage of the location. Already, Conan O’Brien shot episodes of his late-night TV show in Havana. Showtime’s House of Lies plans to film scenes in Cuba. At the very least, Cuba could serve as a gorgeous visual backdrop for the car carnage that Fast & Furious 8 likely will bring to the screen.

As of right now, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese, Ludacris, Michelle Rodriguez and the majority of the Fast crew are expected to return for part eight, though they will have a new director. Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray agreed to direct months ago. The sequel will be in theaters on April 17, 2017.

Straight Outta Compton has made friends and enemies with its successful box office run, and now it's about to make history. With the current international grosses estimated to hit $38.9 million as of the end of today, it's officially become the highest grossing film directed by an African American director.

The $161.1 million domestic total for the F. Gary Gray directed biopic went a long way towards breaking the previous record of Scary Movie, which grossed $157 million domestically. Telling the story of the formation, and eventual break up, of N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton has had a hell of a run at the box office ever since its premiere this past August. Racking up the fifth highest August opening, as well as an impressive three weekends at the top of the box office, are also huge feathers in the cap of the film's director – especially considering the path he's taken to get there.

For this honor to belong to F. Gary Gray is a pretty fitting achievement, further enriching a career as one of the most influential – as well as one of the most successful – African American directors to work in Hollywood. To his credit, Gray made his debut in feature film directing with Friday back in 1995, and went on to direct such hits as The Negotiator, The Italian Job, and most recently Law Abiding Citizen. With Straight Outta Compton landing him his biggest success yet, and The Hollywood Reporter reminding us of Furious 7's brilliant billion dollar run, Gray won't be celebrating for long as he's setting himself up to break the record yet again.

Thanks to Straight Outta Compton's runaway success, F. Gary Gray landed himself the prestigious gig of directing Furious 8, and just in time for the film to stay on schedule to meet its April 14, 2017 release date. With Furious 7 becoming Universal's first film to cross the $1 billion mark, Furious 8 is on a trajectory to meet, if not beat, that benchmark. Should the seventh sequel in the Fast And Furious franchise live up to its ever escalating history, then Gray will find himself making history yet again.

While Straight Outta Compton's success doesn't mean that Hollywood's problems with better representation of African Americans, as well as all other ethnic and gender groups, are automatically solved – it could be seen as a sign that the market's diversity is starting to pay off. If you'd released this film a decade ago, it might not have hit as well as it did in the current era. With F. Gary Gray paving the way with his successful career, let's hope that more directors of diverse ethnic backgrounds will follow in his footsteps sooner, as opposed to later.

Furious 8 will be released on April 14, 2017; with Straight Outta Compton still waiting for a home video release date.

When it comes to news about the Fast and Furious franchise, Vin Diesel’s Facebook page has proven to be a (pretty) reliable source. The actor, who plays Dominic Toretto in the films, previously revealed release dates, movie stills, and titles on his social media. Now, Diesel might have just revealed who will follow James Wan in the director’s chair for Fast and Furious 8, though we’ll still want to hold our excitement for an official confirmation. Check out his update below.

As you can see, Vin Diesel posted a photo of himself posing next to F. Gary Gray, who directed Universal’s successful N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton. In the middle is a board covered in images from the Fast and Furious films, so while there’s no caption or any other information to go along with this photo, this level of teasing is akin to what Diesel typically posts. (Note: he even made this his new header image.)

Universal did not immediately respond to Cinema Blend’s request for comment.

Diesel’s post comes a few days after he published a lengthy update stating how Paul Walker always wanted Rob Cohen to direct at least one more movie in the series after he helmed The Fast and The Furious. However, yesterday we learned from insider reports that the director’s shortlist had been narrowed down to four names — Adam Wingard (The Guest), Louis Leterrier (Now You See Me), Will Eubank (The Signal), and, yes, Gray. At the time, Variety stated that the Straight Outta Compton director was at the front of the pack, which makes this latest photo from Diesel additional fuel to the flames.

It all makes perfect sense. F. Gary Gray — who previously directed The Negotiator, The Italian Job, and Law Abiding Citizen — helmed one of Universal’s biggest money makers. In a year that also saw the studio release Fifty Shades of Grey, Jurassic World, Minions, and Furious 7, Straight Outta Compton pushed the studio's revenue past the $2 billion mark at the yearly domestic box office. Furious 7 is currently the fifth highest-grossing film of all time, just behind Marvel’s The Avengers, and with James Wan busy directing The Conjuring 2 and Aquaman later on, Universal needs someone capable.

According to reports, there were some disagreements behind the scenes as to who would direct Furious 8, with some even suggesting Vin Diesel would step up to the plate himself. In yet another Facebook post, he wrote how his mom suggested he helm the feature himself. Though, for the sake of everyone involved, perhaps its a good thing that Gray is looking like the best option.

Specifics on where Furious 8 will take the franchise next is still unclear, but Diesel teased that the action will head to New York City and that the film will be part of a trilogy that will close out the franchise. The film is currently scheduled for release on April 14, 2017.

There has been a lot of talk over the last week or so about the director situation on Fast & Furious 8, the upcoming installment in what has become a multi-billion dollar franchise. There have been a number of names floating around that could possibly take the helm, but now it looks like they’re circling a rather unexpected candidate for the job: Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray.

According to the Wrap, a source close to Universal Pictures’ search for a director to take over the next chapter in the high-octane franchise told them that Gray has jumped to he head of the pack as far as candidates go. Their intel tells them that the studio executives are going to meet with producer/star Vin Diesel and producer Neal Moritz, and that they will likely decide between Gray and another director. The report theorizes the other contender is The Transporter’s Louis Leterrier, another name that has been in the mix, though it appears that Gray has the edge.

While it initially may seem like an out-of-left-field choice, Gray helming Fast & Furious 8 actually makes a great deal of sense. He just made the studio a nice chunk of change with Straight Outta Compton, the biopic of the hugely influential hip-hop group N.W. A., which has earned almost $200 million worldwide. That might not compare to the $1.5 billion worldwide haul of Furious 7 earlier this year, but with a modest $28 million budget, that’s a healthy profit margin, especially for a project that no studio wanted (it was passed over numerous times).

Gray is also hugely versatile as a director. His resume crosses a lot of genre boundaries, all of which come into play in the Fast & Furious movies. There’s always some comedy, which he’s shown he has a strong handle on in Friday; The Negotiator is a solid thriller; and he has a number of big action movies on his resume, including The Italian Job and Law Abiding Citizen. He’s even already worked with a couple of the key cast members, as he directed Vin Diesel in A Man Apart in 2003, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in Be Cool in 2005.

When you look at it, this hire actually seems far less off the wall than when they hired James Wan to hire Furious 7. Though he’s now going to helm Aquaman, his background before that was almost exclusively low-budget horror. Death Sentence was sort of in the same realm, but not nearly the scope and scale of one of these films.

We don’t know a ton about the plot of Fast & Furious 8 just yet, though it’s a safe bet it will involve Vin Diesel and company driving very fast cars at very high speeds. The action will reportedly go down at least partially in New York, somewhere the globetrotting franchise has yet to visit, though there aren’t many specifics to be had at this juncture. Vin Diesel has also said recently that this will be part of a trilogy that will ultimately close out the franchise.

Fast & Furious 8 is slated for release April 14, 2017.

In case you missed it, Universal’s epic run at the box office continued this weekend as N.W. A. biopic Straight Outta Compton took on all comers and emerged victorious. One issue many, including our own critic, had with the film is that there is so much material that some elements were barely touched on, skimmed over, or left out completely. But when a director’s cut drops, you can expect to see a lot more.

The cast and crew sat down for an extensive conversation with Rolling Stone, and director F. Gary Gray revealed that the initial cut of the movie was more than an hour longer than the already two-hour-and-twenty-seven-minute version that hit theaters. Talking about how they arrived at the theatrical cut, Gray said:

This is perhaps the biggest issue facing biopics across the board. Even if your subject lived a boring existence—and then why are you making a movie about this person?—fitting the details of an entire life into a single movie is hard. Some things are going to be left out. And when you’re dealing with a group comprised of five people, those problems are compounded even further.

That appears to be the biggest issue that many have with Straight Outta Compton, that after a strong start it falls into typical biopic skimming over the surface of events. Gray did say that he expects his version, his director’s cut, to get a home video release eventually, and even hinted at what we could see.

Gray added that one thing the longer gut will address is the group’s notoriously shoddy treatment of women—an issue that is present both lyrically and in real life. N.W.A. did write a song called "A Bitch Iz A Bitch after all, which stirred up quite a bit of controversy, and this article details some of member’s issues with violence against women over the years.

Despite omissions, Straight Outta Compton has received largely positive reviews from critics, who have praised everything from the music and performances to the realistic portrayals of the racial tension and struggles faced by African American performers trying to succeed without compromising themselves. The film obviously connected with audiences. It’s $56 million opening weekend take was bigger than the $55 million Tom Cruise had with Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation, and damn close to the $57 million Marvel managed with Ant-Man. Straight Outta Compton also had the biggest opening of any music biopic ever, by a long ways—the previous high water mark in that realm was Walk the Line, which opened with $22 million.

Straight Outta Compton is in theaters now.

Straight Outta Compton, F. Gary Gray’s N.W.A. biopic, hit theaters and quickly became the number one movie in America. It even broke a record for Universal, making it the fastest studio to surpass the $2 billion mark in a year at the North American box office. Better still, it has the respect of (most) critics and audiences alike.

That’s not to say that it’s not without its hangups. Starring O’Shea Jackson Jr. as Ice Cube, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre, Neil Brown Jr. as DJ Yella, and Aldis Hodge as MC Ren, the film tracks the rise and fall of the iconic hip hop group. That alone is a lot of material, and Straight Outta Compton attempts to deliver it all in the span of 2 hours and 27 minutes. As I wrote about in my review, it leaves certain moments in the story un-fleshed out, but the performances and the impact of the story remain strong.

If you didn't see Straight Outta Compton this past weekend, I strongly suggest you do. If you need further convincing, here are some of the film’s major draws.

1. The Music

To celebrate the release of Straight Outta Compton, the real Dr. Dre released an album titled Compton, which, by the way, was streamed 25 million times on Apple Music over the course of its debut week. However, the film itself heavily features the music of N.W.A. and will likely prompt fans to revisit their old albums after hearing them on screen. It starts with Dre recording the group’s first track, "Cruisin’ Down Tha Street" (though it takes him a little while to grasp the flow of the lyrics), and the song that spawned the film’s title, "Straight Outta Compton." Through montages of the characters writing and recording tracks, we hear more of the music that made the group famous, but "F— the Police!" is one of the more poignant musical moments in the film. Gray does an excellent job in portraying the racial climate of the time and the plight of African Americans dealing with the oppressive police force. It all comes to a climax when the group performs the song on stage in Detroit.

2. Its Present Day Connection

Speaking of the racial climate, it’s no secret that this era was marked by racism. As shown in the film, militarized police raided homes on a regular basis, shown in the film when a young woman is brutally struck by an officer, patrol cops regularly discriminated against those who looked "ghetto" or "gangster," and many used brute force to detain African Americans on the street. While the story of N.W.A. played out, the 1991 versions of these characters were watching footage on TV of Rodney King, a taxi driver, beaten by a circle of police officers wielding batons. The uprisings and protests that followed draw a direct line to the present day, where we’re dealing with the aftermath of tragedies surrounding Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, and Sandra Bland. For N.W.A., "F— the Police!" became a rallying cry against this oppression, a war that's still going on.

3. The Performances

O’Shea Jackson Jr., the real life son of Ice Cube, makes his film debut in Straight Outta Compton, playing his father, no less. He underwent a two-year-long audition process before his hard work paid off and Gray gave him the part. It was all well worth the effort. Though Jackson doesn’t have other credits to his name, he truly embodies his father’s mannerisms and finess in the various stages of his life. It’s rare that an actor gets this opportunity, and the resemblance is equal parts striking, eerie, and effective. That’s also not to discredit the performances delivered by Hawkins and Mitchell. Like Jackson, Hawkins embodies the swagger, for lack of a better term, of Dr. Dre, especially in his older years as he becomes a more confident and powerful figure. Mitchell, on the other hand, delivers an emotional portrait of Eazy-E’s final months after realizing he contracted HIV. He later died of complications with AIDS.

As I mentioned before, the amount of material covered in Straight Outta Compton could be broken down into a trilogy of films. Even so, Gray and his actors successfully depicte a harsh time to be an ambitious musician of color, as well as the overarching racially-tempered climate of the age.

After Black Panther make his MCU debut next year in Captain America: Civil War, the leader of Wakanda will star in his own film in 2018. Despite the film being three years away, there’s been a lot of chatter lately about who will direct the solo film. Selma’s Ava DuVernay almost took the job, but ended up passing on it. Now there’s a new candidate who may be in the running for Black Panther: F. Gary Gray, director of this month’s N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton.

During an interview with BlackTree TV about Gray’s new film, the outlet brought up how they heard that his name might be in the running to helm Black Panther. Gray responded:

It’s unclear from that statement whether Gray is simply expressing interest in Black Panther or if he has actually had a conversation with Marvel, but either way, it sounds like he has at least thought about the project. This isn’t the first time Gray has been connected to a Marvel film. He was in the running to direct Captain America: The Winter Soldier back in 2012, but he dropped so he could direct Straight Outta Compton, and the Russo Brothers were hired instead. With Straight Outta Compton so far earning positive early reviews from critics, Marvel should at least consider meeting with Gray if they haven’t already.

Gray kicked off his directing career in 1992, helming the music video for Ice Cube’s "It Was a Good Day," and throughout the 1990s and 2000s directed music videos for artists and groups like Cypress Hill, Dr. Dre, OutKast, Whitney Houston, and Coolio. The first feature film he directed was 1995’s Friday, and his other notable credits include The Italian Job, Be Cool, A Man Apart, and Law Abiding Citizen.

As far as Black Panther goes, only star Chadwick Boseman is confirmed to appear. Little is known about the MCU’s T’Challa other than during the Civil War conflict he will function as that film’s third party rather than ally himself with Tony Stark or Steve Rogers. Martin Freeman’s mysterious Captain America: Civil War character will also reportedly play some part in Black Panther, and it’s possible we could see Andy Serkis reprise Ulysses Klaw (spelled Klaue in the MCU), Black Panther’s most notorious adversary from the comics, who was last seen in Avengers: Age of Ultron getting his arm sliced off by the eponymous villain.

Comic book fans and general moviegoers can look forward to Black Panther hitting theaters on July 6, 2018.

Straight Outta Compton, director F. Gary Gray’s planned biopic of early-day gangster rap superstars N.W. A., might have found new life over at Universal.

The studio has entered negotiations to pick up the project with Gray attached, says The Wrap. Andrea Berloff’s script would document the formation of the group, which introduced the world budding rap stars like Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Easy E. According to the trade, the screenplay will dig into many of the controversial subjects that plagued the group, from its fights against censorship as it released songs like “Fuck the Police” to Easy E’s losing battle with AIDS. Compton reportedly will follow the group from its first days, and go all the way through Ice Cube’s solo career and the formation of Dre’s Death Row Records.

Rap fans don’t have very many musical biopics they can call their own. Filmmakers are starting to explore major players in the industry, leading to movies like George Tillman Jr.’s Notorious. But an N.W.A. biopic absolutely needs to happen. They are the closest thing to “founding fathers” the gangster rap genre has, and a movie celebrating their accomplishments is in order.

It’s encouraging to hear that Universal sees the need to this story, because Straight Outta Compton has had a rocky pre-production road. The director once had an open casting call back in June to find unknowns capable of playing larger-than-life figures like Dre and Cube. But the film has been on the backburner for months. These developments are encouraging. There’s a solid story waiting to be told here, and it’s cool that Universal is giving F. Gary Gray the chance.

Think you have mad rap skillz? Do you look a little bit like a young Ice Cube or a teenaged Dr. Dre? Than director F. Gary Gray might be able to use you for his N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton, so het your headshot down to Hollywood, pronto.

Gray Tweeted the casting call for his Compton picture, seeking young talent (age 18-25) to play the members of the controversial yet groundbreaking L.A. rap group. Gray apparently is going with newcomers for the key roles, as the casting sheet says available parts include Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Yella and MC Ren. There’s a Gmail address on the sheet for people to send video auditions, so if you want to be considered, check it out.

Casting unknowns is the only way to go with a Compton movie. No one in the Hollywood system has what it takes to nail the roles of such volatile artists as Cube, Dre and Eazy. There was even a rumor at one point that the sons of the famous rappers would rise up to the challenge and play their fathers on screen. That could work, though nothing has come of that rumor to date.

These are career-defining roles for a young talent, though, and Gray’s making a very smart decision by going with newcomers instead of trying to force a recognizable young actor into a role just because they might help sell a ticket or two.

Gray has been circling this N.W.A. film for months. If casting is underway, pre-production and shooting can’t be too far off. We’ll keep you posted on details, but in the meantime, if you think you have what it takes to play a member of N.W.A. in their prime, audition. You’ve got nothing to lose.

Last week kickstarted what will likely become one of the bigger director races of the next couple months: the search for a Captain America sequel helmer. While the gig is still up for grabs, some names included on the shortlist were George Nolfi (The Adjustment Bureau), Anthony and Joseph Russo (Community) and F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job). Well, it looks like the race has lost one of its runners.

According to Deadline, F. Gary Gray is likely out of the running for the Captain America follow-up because he is now in talks to direct Straight Outta Compton, the long in-development biopic about the rap group NWA. The film will see members Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Easy E rise out of south central LA and give birth to gangster rap. There was a recent rumor that the sons of the famous rappers would play their fathers in the film, but that has not been confirmed. The site describes Gray's conversations aboutStraight Outta Compton to be "hot and heavy," which means that he may not be officially signed on yet, but it may not be long until he is.

F. Gary Gray isn't exactly an Oscar-caliber director, but there is some sense in him directing the NWA biopic. After all, it was his first feature, Friday, that helped move Ice Cube's acting career forward. Obviously that was after NWA was no more, but it's still an insight that few other directors are going to have.

F. Gary Gray thinks people go to the movies to see what they can't see on television, and I guarantee you, Law Abiding Citizen is like nothing you'll see at home. The violent thriller stars Gerard Butler as a father mourning the loss of his wife and child at the hands of cold-blooded robbers, who witnesses the DA (Jamie Foxx) give the murderers a lenient deal, and 10 years later returns to extract revenge on the justice system that fails him. The movie is packed with gun fights, explosions, violent deaths and cat-and-mouse chase scenes, but also takes it upon itself to ask big questions about the nature of justice and when violence can be justified for the proper cause.

Though it provides a lot of audience-pleasing action, Gray says he wanted to make his movie more than just your average thriller. I talked to him on the phone about his plans for the film, particularly when taking over for Frank Darabont as director, and the research he did to properly depict all the weapons Butler's character uses to attack his victims. Read what he had to say about it all below. Law Abiding Citizen opens this Friday.

I know Frank Darabont had originally been involved as a director and in writing the screenplay. How did his contributions fit into what you did with the film?

He's a great writer and a great filmmaker, so I was really happy to jump in to this movie. He made a lot of great additions to the story. What I did to make it my own was work with some of the character relationships and the relationship with the audience. In the current version of the story, the characters, there's a complexity to the story where you're not really sure who the antagonist and the protagonist is. A lot of times with movies in this genre, it's about getting revenge and that's it. It's about so much more than revenge in the film. That was an element that I encouraged the writers to pay close attention to. On the surface it's mano-e-mano slugfest, but I think it's a smart chess game between the two.

Were there other movies that you were inspired by in making this? Seven and Silence of the Lambs can also be described as chess games between characters.

Seven and Silence of the Lambs, when you hear comparisons to those stories, I just take it as a compliment, because they're two great films. They work really hard to take it to the next level. It's been 12 years since you've experienced a film in this genre that's not afraid to kind of go there and take it to the next level and some of the smart interplay between the two characters.

This movie starts very intense very quickly. Why did you want to ramp up the action right from the beginning?

I really wanted to grab the audience by the collar and say this is not your ordinary thriller. I think that we created a turn, opening the movie with a punch in the gut. That was deliberate, because wanted to make sure that the audience was at attention and paid attention to every detail thereafter. It wasn't in the script initially, it was somewhat impressionistic. I wanted the audience to know that all bets are off once you watch the first scene. You're not going to see the typical thriller. This movie is going to keep you guessing.

The violence is pretty intense as well. Were you ever worried about taking it too over the top?

We were really working for the truth. What's the truth in a situation like that, what would it really feel like. Clyde Shelton was a victim in the opening of the movie, and you really had to feel that. To intellectualize it is one thing, but to feel it is another.

Was it hard to stay within the parameters of the R-rating with all that violence?

We made some adjustments, which you'll probably see in the director's cut. It's really about whatever felt real. I wanted it to not feel gratuitous. It's not like in a horror film, where every other sequence you have a certain amount of violence. There are a couple of moments where you jump out of your seat. I think people go to the movies to see what you can't see on television.

The botched execution scene is particularly graphic. What kind of research did you do to create that scene?

I've never seen an execution in my life, but I have researched it on video. In movies, of course, because it's not a documentary, you take creative license. I think everyone involved did a good job of creating what I think is an execution that would go wrong. It's just a movie, so you can have fun with it.

How did you research some of the more over-the-top weapons in the movie? Are they real?

I did quite a bit of research with weapons experts and people within the Department of Defense, and a lot of studying of CIA tools. Almost anything is possible. That's the scary part. That's what makes this character so entertainingly dangerous.

I won’t lie. I’ve been waiting for The Brazilian Job since the second the credits of The Italian Job started rolling. I dug that movie so much, I ended up buying a Mini Cooper, which I owned for several years before realizing that foreign cars are expensive as shit to keep up. So the fact that the sequel has gained very little ground in the last six years is, in my humble but always right opinion, a bummer.

Coming Soon had a chance to talk to The Italian Job director F. Gary Gray (also the director of the upcoming Law Abiding Citizen) about the sequel and its chances of ever getting made. His response to the sequel’s standstill? Not his fault. He tells the website that The Brazilian is in Paramount’s hands, which may not be the best of news. The movie was made in 2003 and studio executives are on the revolving door system, meaning it’s very unlikely that any of the current bosses at Paramount even remember that they’re the ones who released The Italian Job.

The good news? He’d definitely be interested in directing the flick, which sounds great and all but is hardly a commitment. Gray said, "If you're on a movie, it depends on scheduling, that whole thing, but I certainly hope so. I loved directing that movie.” The old “if my schedule allows it” routine. I love it. Besides, every single actors involved in the original has moved on to bigger and better (in some cases, only one of those word is appropriate) things. With the way things are going, The Brazilian Job may end up as a Mos Def starring vehicle. Pun intended.

F. Gary Gray’s next movie is something called Law Abiding Citizen and while you probably haven’t heard much about it before now, expect that to change. It’s all thanks to a couple of kick-ass teaser posters released by Gray on Twitter.

I’ve included both of them below. Take a look and then head over to Gray’s Twitter page. He’s looking for feedback and he wants to know what you think of them. They aren’t final versions, but maybe they will be if you like them well enough.

In Law Abiding Citizen, an everyday guy decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets his family's killers free. His target: The district attorney who orchestrated the deal. Judging from the posters looks like Gerard Butler is the everyday guy and Jamie Foxx the DA he’s after.