To mark the start of production on the seventh instalment in the street-racing franchise, series stalwart Vin Diesel took to his ever popular Facebook page yesterday to provide fans with the first glimpse of Fast & Furious 7. The James Wan-directed vehicle is expected to hit theatres on July 11th, 2014, and will introduce new recruits Jason Statham, Tony Jaa, Djimon Hounsou and Ronda Rousey to the bombastic action.
Captioned “the unknown road ahead,” the pensive teaser image stars Diesel – a.k.a. Dominic Toretto – alongside Paul Walker’s Brian O’Connor, the seventh instalment will reportedly pick up the pieces from its predecessor; as the ragtag team recover from their run in with Luke Evans’ Owen Shaw. Of course, as the laws of the Fast & Furious universe would have it, a new threat emerges in the form of Shaw’s brother Ian (Statham) who seeks to avenge his fallen sibling. Mind you, with Statham, Diesel and Johnson all under one narrative umbrella, Fast 7 has enough unashamed testosterone to match The Expendables. Well, almost.
Horror disciple James Wan has also teased his intentions to steer the film’s setting towards Los Angeles following the cliff-hanger ending of the sixth movie. With that said, production is currently underway in Atlanta. It’s been confirmed that Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster will reprise their roles for Fast & Furious 7, with the rumoured addition of Kurt Russell still unconfirmed at this time.
Having initially replaced long-time director Justin Lin earlier this year, Fast & Furious 7 marks an interesting departure from the norm for James Wan; having directed 2013’s horror brace The Conjuring and Insidious: Chapter 2.
With a firm release date acting as the figurative mile marker, Fast & Furious 7 will hit US theatres first on July 11th, 2014, before releasing in the UK two weeks later on July 25th.
