The Fate of the Furious (alternatively known as F8 and titled on-screen as Fast & Furious 8 internationally) is a 2017 American action thriller film directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to Furious 7 (2015) and the eighth installment in the Fast & 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. In the film, Dominic Toretto has settled down with his wife Letty Ortiz, until cyberterrorist Cipher coerces him into working for her and turns him against his team, forcing them to find Dom and take down Cipher.
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 that same month, casting took place between April and June. In October, Gray was announced to direct the film in the place of James Wan, who had directed the previous installment. 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 around the world. With an estimated production budget of up to $270 million, it is one of the most expensive films ever made.
The Fate of the Furious premiered in Berlin on April 4, 2017 and was theatrically released in conventional and IMAX theaters in the United States on April 14 by Universal Pictures. The film received lukewarm reviews from critics, many of whom praised the performances and action sequences, but deemed the film unnecessary. The film grossed over $1.2 billion worldwide, making it the nineteenth film (and the second in the franchise, after Furious 7) to gross over $1 billion, the third-highest-grossing film of 2017, and the eleventh highest-grossing film of all time. It also grossed $541.9 million worldwide during its opening weekend, which made it the highest-grossing worldwide opening of all timeuntil the release of Avengers: Infinity War (2018). The sequel, F9, was released internationally in May 2021 and released in the United States in June 2021.