Now that Dom and Letty are on their honeymoon and Brian and Mia have retired from the game-and the rest of the crew has been exonerated-the globetrotting team has found a semblance of a normal life. But when a mysterious woman seduces Dom into the world of crime he can’t seem to escape and a betrayal of those closest to him, they will face trials that will test them as never before. From the shores of Cuba and the streets of New York City to the icy plains off the arctic Barents Sea, the elite force will crisscross the globe to stop an anarchist from unleashing chaos on the world’s stage… and to bring home the man who made them a family.
The Fate of the Furious (alternatively known as Fast & Furious 8 and Fast 8, and often stylized as F8) is a 2017 American action film directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Chris Morgan. It is the eighth installment in The Fast and the Furious franchise. The film 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 (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.
About the Production
The Fate of the Furious marks the first film of the franchise since The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) not to star Paul Walker, who died in a single-vehicle crash on November 30, 2013, during the filming of Furious 7 (2015).
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, best known for directing Straight Outta Compton (2015), was announced to direct the film in the place of James Wan, who had directed the previous film. 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 different locations around the world.
In keeping with the franchise’s penchant for filming in “exotic” locations, such as Dubai and Rio de Janeiro, in January 2016 it was announced that Universal was seeking approval from the United States and Cuban governments to shoot the film in Cuba.
Principal photography began on March 14, 2016, in Mývatn, Iceland where strong winds sent a plastic iceberg prop flying into a paddock and striking two horses. One was wounded and the other mortally injured; it was later euthanized. In late April, filming began in Cuba’s capital city Havana. In May, filming also took place in Cleveland, Ohio. Franchise cinematographer, Stephen F. Windon, was confirmed to return for the eighth installment. Filming also took place in Atlanta and New York City.
The Fate of the Furious grossed $226 million in the United States and Canada and $1.010 billion in other territories for a worldwide total of $1.236 billion, against a production budget of $250 million ($350 million including marketing costs). It is Universal Pictures’ most ambitious worldwide distribution release in the studio’s history.
The film was released day-and-date in 64 territories worldwide, including almost all major markets (minus Japan), starting from April 12, 2017, and was projected to earn anywhere between $375–440 million in its five-day opening weekend. By the end of the weekend, it ended up earning $539.9 million from nearly 23,000 screens, way above initial projections, to score the biggest global opening in cinematic history. It also marked the third time that a film earned over $500 million in a single weekend, after Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($529 million) and Jurassic World ($525.5 million). In IMAX, the film made $31.1 million from 1,079 screens to record the biggest IMAX April debut and the fourth biggest overall.
On April 30, it crossed the $1 billion threshold, becoming the second release of 2017 (following Beauty and the Beast), the fifth film released by Universal Pictures (after Jurassic Park, Furious 7, Jurassic World, and Minions) and the thirtieth film overall in cinematic history to gross over $1 billion. It is currently the third highest-grossing film of the year, behind Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Beauty and the Beast, the second-biggest action film that is not a fantasy or superhero movie, behind Furious 7, and is Universal’s highest-grossing live-action release since Jurassic World back in June 2015.
The Fate of the Furious (2017)
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Starring: Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, Kurt Russell, Scott Eastwood, Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren
Screenplay by: Chris Morgan
Production Design by: Bill Brzeski
Cinematography by: Stephen F. Windon
Film Editing by: Paul Rubell, Christian Wagner
Set Decoration by: Danielle Berman
Art Direction by: Andrew Max Cahn, Jonathan Carlos, Desma Murphy, Jay Pelissier, Aramís Balebona Recio, Brian Stultz
Music by: Brian Tyler
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for prolonged sequences of violence and destruction, suggestive content, and language.
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: April 14, 2017
