Chris Morgan has penned every installment of the FAST & FURIOUS franchise since THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT all the way back in 2006. Simply put, Morgan had lived and breathed the life of Dominic Toretto and family for well over a decade, but THR reports that the upcoming FAST & FURIOUS 9 will be getting some new parts under the hood with the addition of a fresh screenwriter.
Universal Pictures has tapped Daniel Casey (KIN) to pen FAST & FURIOUS 9, with THR commenting that a large factor in Casey getting the gig was his script for THE HEAVY, a subversive take on the superhero genre which will be produced by J.J. Abrams and directed by Julius Avery (OVERLORD). Before you start wondering why Chris Morgan is out of the franchise, fear not, for Morgan has simply switched over to pen the FAST & FURIOUS spin-off focused on Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw. FAST & FURIOUS 9 (and 10) will be helmed by Justin Lin, who has directed four movies in the franchise before electing to sit out the last two sequels. We don't know all that much about the ninth installment of the long-running series, but Vin Diesel has teased that it will (somehow) be even bigger. "It does get bigger. I just got off the phone with Justin Lin, who is directing Fast nine and Fast ten and I can't tell you how excited he is!" Diesel said, before hinting where the sequel might take the crew. "We haven't been to Africa, I will tell you, and we are long overdue." FAST & FURIOUS 9 is currently set for an April 10, 2020 release.
As for Daniel Casey's next project, KIN tells the story of an unexpected hero destined for greatness as it finds a young boy (Myles Truitt) stumbling across a powerful weapon with mysterious origins. Together with his brother (Jack Reynor), a recently released ex-con, the pair are forced to go on the run from a gang of otherworldly soldiers as well as a vengeful criminal (James Franco). The film also stars Dennis Quaid as the father of the siblings, Zoe Kravitz as a young woman who joins them on the run, and Carrie Coon as an FBI agent called upon to investigate the strange occurrences which seem to follow the two boys.
KIN will hit theaters on August 31, 2018.