by: S. Scott Stanikmas

After Vin Diesel taking to Facebook and stirring the pot regarding the director of the eighth installment of the Fast And Furious franchise, it looks like we’ve now got a good idea as to who Universal is looking at to sit behind the camera.

The Hollywood Reporter says that the studio has narrowed the primary list down to a top three. The trio being looked at are F.Gary Gray, Louis Leterrier and Adam Wingard. The Wrap is reporting that Gray is the current frontrunner.

Gray seems like a safe choice. His N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton was a sleeper hit this summer. And he’s got action cred on his resume as he helmed films such as the remake of The Italian Job (which featured Jason Statham), Law Abiding Citizen and A Man Apart (which also starred Vin Diesel).

The studio can’t go wrong with Leterrier, either. The filmmaker brought us the first two Transporter films, The Incredible Hulk and Now You See Me. While his films might not always capture audiences there’s no denying he has what it takes to deliver the goods.

The dark horse here is Wingard. Known primarily for horror like You’re Next, The Guest and segments in the V/H/S and The ABC’s Of Death anthologies, he’s not really known for the all-out action that the Fast And Furious franchise requires. But let’s not forget that James Wan was only known for horror (the SAW franchise, Insidious and The Conjuring) before knocking it out of the park with Furious 7.

The studio was originally looking to bring back Justin Lin or James Wan to helm the next film (or trilogy of films) but the two were busy with prior commitments to Star Trek Beyond and The Conjuring 2 respectively.

Vin Diesel threw his hat on the ring for the job via Facebook, but that idea was quickly shot down according to industry insiders. It was also being said that Universal wasn’t too happy with Diesel using social media to try and gauge fan reaction to personnel decisions.

The trio will likely meet with execs from Universal and Diesel within the coming weeks to share their vision of what the final three films in the Fast And Furious franchise could be. They might not be the only ones interviewed, but as of right now these three men seem to be the top choices.