Kurt Russell, Lucas Black in Fast & Furious 7
Kurt Russell is on the set of Fast & Furious 7. Lucas Black is there too, and has options for Fast & Furious 8 and 9 already. Will Kurt Russell become a regular?
Kurt Russell (far right) on the set of Fast & Furious 7, shooting in Los Angeles.
Screenshot, Vin Diesel Facebook page
Filming began this month in Los Angeles of "Fast & Furious 7." And yes, Kurt Russell is in the house.
Vin Diesel posted a photo on confirming the presence of Russell. But its not yet clear what role Russell is playing.
Diesel also posted a photo of Lucas Black,聽 the star of 鈥淔ast & Furious 3: Tokyo Drift,鈥� who is also in Fast & Furious 7.
With the last two installments in the 鈥淔ast & Furious鈥� franchise grossing more than $ 1.4 billion worldwide and 鈥淔ast & Furious 7鈥� racing into theaters next summer, Universal Pictures is already looking down the road to 鈥滷ast & Furious 9.鈥�
Lucas Black has options to appear in the eighth and ninth installments, a spokesperson at Black鈥檚 agency ICM Partners told TheWrap.
Universal says it鈥檚 not yet developing 鈥淔ast & Furious 8,鈥� let alone 鈥淔ast & Furious 9,鈥� but confirms that Black鈥檚 deal for 鈥淔ast & Furious 7鈥� includes options for two additional sequels 鈥� not that his character is guaranteed to survive the next movie, which opens summer 2014.
James Wan, who has guided 鈥淭he Conjuring鈥� and 鈥淚nsidious Chapter 2鈥� to $40 million openings this year, is directing 鈥�7鈥� from a script by Chris Morgan 鈥撀� who also penned Fast & Furious 5 and 6. Neal H. Moritz is producing with Vin Diesel, who stars alongside Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Jason Statham, Djimon Hounsou and Kurt Russell.
It鈥檚 not uncommon for studios to make talent deals ahead of time should they decide to make additional sequels, and while Universal is smart to cover its bumper, the studio may be getting ahead of itself here 鈥� after all, the 鈥淔ast & Furious鈥� franchise flamed out once before.
Will audiences three-to-five years from now still pay to see more stories in which Dom Toretto (Diesel) races from the law? The gravity-defying action series has been trending upward at the box office, but Hollywood is a cyclical business.