The Fate of the Furious (alternatively known as
F8 and
Fast & Furious 8) is a 2017 American
action film directed by
F. Gary Gray and written by
Chris Morgan. A sequel to 2015's
Furious 7, it is the eighth installment in the
Fast & Furious franchise and stars
Vin Diesel,
Dwayne Johnson,
Jason Statham,
Michelle Rodriguez,
Tyrese Gibson,
Chris "Ludacris" Bridges,
Scott Eastwood,
Nathalie Emmanuel,
Elsa Pataky,
Kurt Russell and
Charlize Theron.
The Fate of the Furious follows
Dominic Toretto (Diesel), who has settled down with his wife
Letty Ortiz (Rodriguez), until
cyberterrorist Cipher (Theron) coerces him into working for her and turns him against his team, forcing them to find Dom and take down Cipher.
Plans for an eighth installment were first announced in March 2015 when Diesel appeared on
Jimmy Kimmel Live! and announced that the film would be set in New York City. Preparations for the film began immediately after the release of
Furious 7, with Diesel, Morgan, and producer
Neal H. Moritz re-signing. After setting an initial release date in the same month, casting took place between April and June 2015. In October 2015, Gray was announced to direct the film in the place of
James Wan, who had directed the previous installment.
Principal photography began in March 2016 in locations such as
Mývatn,
Havana,
Atlanta,
Cleveland, and New York City, continuing the franchise's tradition of filming in exotic locations around the world.
[4]
The Fate of the Furious premiered in
Berlin on April 4, 2017 and was theatrically released in conventional and
IMAX theaters in the United States on April 14, 2017 while also playing in
3D,
IMAX 3D, and
4DX internationally. The film received mixed reviews from critics, many of whom praised the performances and action sequences, but criticized the storyline and the long running time. The film grossed over $1.2 billion worldwide, making it the thirtieth film (and the second in the franchise, after
Furious 7) to gross over $1 billion, the
third-highest-grossing film of 2017 and the
nineteenth highest-grossing film of all time. It also grossed $541.9 million worldwide during its opening weekend, which made it the
highest-grossing worldwide opening of all time until the release of
Avengers: Infinity War the following year.
