It all started in 2001 when Universal released a humble street racing movie called The Fast and the Furious. Often imitated, never duplicated, the Fast and Furious franchise has spanned six films, and will be releasing their seventh in 2016. But with the passing of Paul Walker, and some of the cast committed to other projects, the franchise will have to come to an end sooner or later. So Universal is already planning to wave the checkered flag.

A new report says that the studio is eying Justin Lin to return to direct the final installments of the blockbuster franchise.

Deadline reports that Furious 7 director James Wan will not return to direct the eighth film in the franchise because of his commitment to The Conjuring 2, which, according to the report, could see Universal bringing Lin back to direct multiple new Fast and Furious movies back-to-back to end the series.

Lin is already familiar with the franchise having directed The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast and Furious, Fast Five, and Furious 6 before handing off the job of director over to Wan. Since then he has been tapped for a couple of projects that include The Bourne Legacy 2, which was pushed back to a much later date since Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass are returning for a fifth Bourne film due out in theaters in 2016.

Lin is also be working on the first two episodes of season two of HBO’s True Detective. But he isn’t attached to anything else beyond that.

Universal hasn’t specifically stated the number of films it would take to end the franchise — after all, if it is still lucrative, why end it — but everything has to come to an end…that is, until it is rebooted.

[Source: Deadline]