Until now, director James Wan has made his name with dark horror films like Saw, Insidious and the upcoming The Conjuring. He recently signed on to direct the seventh film in the Fast and Furious franchise, Fast & Furious 7, and he’s got some good ideas about what he wants to do with it.
Talking to The Playlist, Wan opened up about what he hopes for with Fast & Furious 7:
I really like the theme of this next one that we’re going with. I can’t really talk about it, but I like the theme; it’s one that I really relate to. Then there’s the drive of Number Seven, which was set up at the end of Number Six, which is a classic revenge story. I’m a big [genre] fan, so that’s how I’m approaching it: I’m looking at it like a gritty, ’70s revenge thriller, but one that still fits into the ‘Fast and Furious’ series.
Wan has found inspiration for the idea in both The French Connection and Death Wish. He says that he wants Fast & Furious 7 to be in keeping with the rest of the franchise, which is action-y but really quite light. Given the hint of darkness at the end of Fast 6, the obvious set-up for a revenge thriller, and Wan’s track record, we can look for this film to be decidedly darker than its predecessors.
That darkness could be good for Fast & Furious 7. For awhile the franchise was just getting sillier and sillier, mounting large scale races and action sequences that stopped being about awesome cars and started being about how much property destruction you could get into one scene. While Wan is not known for his sparing nature – few films are more excessive than Saw or Insidious – bringing in a new, grittier sensibility might be just what this franchise needs. You got to keep things fresh, after all.
Fast & Furious 7 is not too far in the future right now and James Wan has already started planning action sequences. The Conjuring hits theatres this weekend and Wan just completed Insidious: Chapter 2, the sequel to his 2010 hit Insidious. He’s had great success with violent horror films; now he’ll try his hand at a major tentpole production.
What do you think of Wan’s plans for Fast & Furious 7? Looking forward to his gritty reimagining of the franchise? Let us know in the comments.