With James Wan not returning to direct the next installment in the Fast and Furious franchise, Furious 8 is in desperate need of someone to sit behind the camera before Vin Diesel decides to just do the job himself. But it looks like Universal has narrowed their options down to just a few directors, each of them interesting choices in their own right.

The Fast & Furious series needs to hurry up.

Last week reports surfaced that Universal Pictures was having an exceptionally difficult time finding a director to take on Fast and Furious 8, in part because Vin Diesel can be such a pain in the ass to work with. It was a damning report about the status of one of the most beloved and successful movie franchises, but Diesel himself has taken to his Facebook page to refute some of those claims and update on the status of the next Fast and Furious films.

The Fast and Furious franchise wouldn’t be where it is now without Vin Diesel. The films didn’t even kick into high gear until Diesel returned for 2009’s Fast and Furious, and the box-office numbers have been climbing astronomically since then. To say Universal owes Vin Diesel a gigantic debt of gratitude is an understatement, but exactly how much do they owe him? Would they actually let Diesel, who has little experience directing a movie let alone directing a movie on the scale of a Fast and Furious film, behind the camera of Fast and Furious 8? According to a new report, this may be what Vin Diesel wants and Universal is terrified.

Not much is known at this point about Fast and Furious 8 — we do know that Vin Diesel will return, and it’s assumed that much of the main cast will return to reprise their roles from the franchise as well. Diesel also teased a location change to New York City, but that’s about it. But now we have another piece of information about the eighth installment in the franchise: Jason Statham will also return.

Dwayne Johnson is a mega star, whose charisma alone can elevate an otherwise mediocre action film (his bulk and toughness don’t hurt, either). The wrestler-turned-actor is currently promoting San Andreas, which looks to be another so-so movie that will draw and entertain audiences based on his star power alone. While doing press for that film, Johnson gave a couple of quick updates on a franchise we’re all a bit more interested in: Fast and Furious.

The next installment in the Fast and Furious franchise may not yet have a script, a director, or even confirmed cast members, but Universal isn’t pumping the breaks on the high-octane series — especially not after the totally bonkers Furious 7, which shattered April box office records, becoming the most successful installment to date. Via star Vin Diesel, the studio has confirmed the release date for Fast and Furious 8, arriving in 2017.

Furious 7 had one of the biggest box office openings of all time last weekend, earning a jaw-dropping $392 million worldwide. Somehow, Universal’s silly car-racing franchise has officially grown up and has the monetary clout to stand alongside the biggest movies of all time. So yeah, of course everyone wants a Fast and Furious 8, but fans hoping for a quick turnaround need to get comfortable. The next film is stuck at a red light and it’s going to be a little while before it turns green.

With Furious 7 shattering the April box office record and with the franchise as popular as ever, do you even need to wonder if they’re making another sequel? Recently, we learned that the eighth installment in the Fast and Furious franchise would move the action to New York. According to a new report, it seems their new location plans are contingent upon the return of one actor in particular: Eva Mendes, who previously appeared in 2 Fast 2 Furious.

Vin Diesel, he of the bulging biceps, shiny scalp and low vocal register, has been making the press rounds for Furious 7 over the past few weeks. Considering just how crazy his new movie is, he sure has a lot to talk about. But even the unlimited number of potential conversation topics to mined from the insanity of the seventh film in the Fast and Furious saga couldn’t stop him from teasing the eighth film in the franchise, which may be set in New York City.