Good news for Fast & Furious fans today, as the franchise’s star, producer and co-creator Vin Diesel has confirmed that there will be another three movies before the series ends.

Writing on his Facebook page on Sunday (September 27th), Diesel said that Universal Studios had given the green light to a final trilogy of movies to be made to bring the franchise to a close. Given that that first instalment came way back in 2001, and that the eighth movie has a tentative release date of spring 2017, it’s entirely possible that the Fast & Furious movies will have spanned two decades by the time it’s through.

Vin DieselVin Diesel has confirmed that there will be another trilogy of 'Fast & Furious' movies

“The fans of the Fast & Furious SAGA are the best fans in the world,” Diesel wrote in his post. “Since I became the producer in 2008, you have been with me every step of the way… literally giving me feedback that proved invaluable. Thank you.”

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“My producing partner Neal would love for me to just sign off on a director, but this is too special a franchise, so these matters have to be very carefully handled. To be clear, NO ONE has been offered to helm Fast 8 yet… let alone seen a script. Universal has been so good to me and so trusting of the vision… they have been like family… I promised the studio I would deliver one last trilogy to end the saga. I will announce the directors on my next post.”

An article from The Hollywood Reporter did the rounds last week, suggesting that Furious 8 had already been the subject of backstage arguments and power struggles. While Diesel doesn’t explicitly reference that report, he does indicate that there has been trouble getting a director on board. James Wan, who directed Furious 7, is reportedly unavailable.

Furious 7, the final film to star the late Paul Walker after his death in a road accident in 2013, was released earlier in 2015 and has taken just over $1.5 billion around the world, making it the fifth highest grossing movie of all time (not adjusted for inflation).

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