Although Jurassic World is currently the highest grossing movie of the year (with a few other big movies still to come), back in April it was Furious 7 that held the title. It didn’t take long for Universal to announce another sequel in the long-running action franchise and, at the time, everyone just assumed that James Wan would direct. However, this week we are hearing that things on Furious 8 are not progressing quite as smoothly as we all had thought. Apparently James Wan turned down the film and now that Justin Lin has also signed on to direct Star Trek Beyond, the studio has been left in a bit of a bind. Could this prevent Furious 8 from hitting its 2017 release date?

According to THR, James Wan’s decision to direct The Conjuring 2 put him out of the running to direct Furious 8. When Universal realized that Justin Lin would not be able to return either, they went back to Wan with an especially lucrative offer and he still turned it down. Apparently the stress of shooting Furious 7 adversely affected his health and he had no desire to repeat the experience. Now the studio is on the hunt for someone else to take over the reins, but it is proving to be difficult.

Part of the problem is that apparently Vin Diesel needs to be consulted on the matter, even though he does not actually have veto power over the studio. He was reportedly difficult to work with on Furious 7 and questioned every little detail of the production. The studio is worried that Diesel might make a push to direct the movie himself, although he has not yet expressed a desire to do so. They are said to be looking at both experienced directors and newcomers, although the only other name that is mentioned is Jaume Collet-Serra (Non-Stop) who had scheduling issues. Do you think is it a problem that James Wan and Justin Lin will not be returning? Who would you like to see direct Furious 8?