Vin Diesel confirms release dates for all three new Fast & Furious films

Series veteran Vin Diesel has announced the release dates for the next three installments of the franchise with an update on Instagram, and the schedule now has a new sequel hitting theaters every other year beginning with the 2017 premiere of Fast & Furious 8.

Related: Buckle up: Dwayne Johnson is working on a Fast and Furious-like cop show for Fox

According to Diesel’s post, Fast 8 will keep its previously announced release date of April 14, 2017. The still-untitled and formerly unconfirmed ninth and tenth films in the franchise will premiere April 19, 2019, and April 2, 2021, respectively.

A photo posted by Vin Diesel (@vindiesel) on Feb 2, 2016 at 10:51pm PST

Diesel’s announcement featured the tagline “2 Decades, 10 Films, 1 Saga” — a nod to the first film’s 2001 debut and the over-arching narrative that has continued through seven films so far.

The ninth and tenth films in the franchise are the first to be scheduled on their respective dates, so it will be interesting to see whether any studio dares to challenge the blockbuster juggernaut that the Fast & Furious series has become.

Fast 8 is set to be directed by Straight Outta Compton filmmaker F. Gary Gray, and Diesel has suggested that the film will kick off a new trilogy in the aftermath of franchise veteran Paul Walker’s death and his character’s emotional sendoff in 2015’s Furious 7.

Along with Diesel’s return as Dominic Toretto, the film is also expected to feature franchise regulars Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, and Elsa Pataky, as well as returning cast members Lucas Black, Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson, and Kurt Russell.

Production on Fast 8 is expected to begin production soon, with filming reportedly happening in New York City and Atlanta, as well as Russia and Iceland.