Earlier this week we reported that Justin Lin will not be directing Fast & Furious 7, despite the fact that everyone thought he would. With the film set to shoot this Summer, we told you that Universal was scrambling to find a director and today, we have a rumored short list which contains the names of several directors who may take on the job.
If this short list is to be believed, then the studio currently has their eye on Jeff Wadlow, Brad Furman and Harald Zwart. If you’re not familiar with any of those names, we won’t blame you.
Wadlow, though he directed Never Back Down and Cry_Wolf, two somewhat enjoyable films, he won’t really be on anyone’s radar till his next film, Kick-Ass 2, hits theatres this Summer. That film is also a Universal property, which means that they obviously like what they see if they’re willing to give him the keys to Fast & Furious 7.
Then there’s Brad Furman. You may know him from The Lincoln Lawyer, which was quite good. He also has a new film coming out titled Runner, Runner which stars Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake. Aside from that though, he hasn’t done too much.
Finally, there’s Harald Zwart, who directed the Karate Kid remake, a film that I absolutely hated. He’s also behind this Summer’s The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, a YA novel adaptation that actually looks ok.
So, while none of these names really stick out or make much of an impact, they all have something going for them. It just seems odd that Universal would want to hand over one of their biggest films to a director who isn’t a proven talent. The Fast and Furious franchise is a big one and is no doubt capable of drawing some A-list talent into the director’s chair, so why go for directors who aren’t yet fully proven talents?
What do you think? Who would you like to see direct Fast & Furious 7?