Over the past week it has become increasingly clear just how valuable the Fast & Furious franchise is to Universal Pictures. The studio is definitely lacking in big tentpole franchises as of late, mainly because they don’t have any comic book properties to rely on (with the exception of Kick-Ass 2). Next year they are aiming to have Jurassic Park 4 in theatres, but right now that’s all they currently have lined up… which is why they desperately need Fast & Furious 7 for next summer as well. Unfortunately, their insistence on having another sequel ready in the span of a year has apparently pushed director Justin Lin away. Last week THR revealed that Lin would not be returning for the next installment and the search is currently on for a replacement. The Fast & Furious movies have always thrived on familiarity… will a changing of the guard be detrimental to the series?

According to Latino Review, Universal already has three directors in mind to take over the driver’s seat on Fast & Furious 7. Although it’s easy to assume that Lin would be somewhat replaceable, these three names might make you think twice about it. The candidates are: Jeff Wadlow (Never Back Down, Kick-Ass 2), Brad Furman (The Lincoln Lawyer), and Harald Zwart (The Karate Kid, The Pink Panther 2).

I’m sure that some of these guys could deliver a decent action film (and hey, Kick-Ass 2 might blow us away), but the mere mention of someone like Harald Zwart in the vicinity of this franchise is telling. Justin Lin may not be single-handedly responsible for saving the franchise (he did direct the lowest grossing installment before Vin Diesel and Paul Walker mounted their comeback) but he clearly kept things heading in the right direction. There has been talk of a spin-off focusing on Dwayne Johnson’s character, which I think would make a lot more sense for a new director. Do you care who directs Fast & Furious 7? Will you be happy to see Justin Lin try his hand at something else instead?