'Fast 8' release date news, cast updates: Diesel talks Oscar; Cody Walker won't be Brian O'Conner's double

Vin Diesel as Dominic Torreto in "Fast 8" Facebook/FastandFurious

Vin Diesel has proudly claimed that their upcoming sequel to "Fast & Furious 7" is worthy of winning an Oscar. Meanwhile, Cody Walker will not be appearing to portray the role of Paul Walker.

ET confirmed that "Straight Outta Compton" director F. Gary Gray has taken over "Fast 8," and Diesel is confident that Gray will bring them to the Oscars after his latest movie was snubbed.

"I think he went into making this movie with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, going 'Oh, really? Ok. Now I'm going to take the biggest saga in the world, and I'm about to throw Oscars at you,'" Diesel shared with ET. "Wait till you see what he does!" added Diesel.

Diesel describes "Fast 8" as different from the previous installments and that it has a darker tone to it. He also shared that his character Dominic Torreto will have an inner struggle. "My character is conflicted in a way that is really going to shock you. He's coming off of a lot of emotion from 7 and the loss that 7 represents," explained the actor.

Meanwhile, a lot of fans are expecting that Brian O'Conner (previously played by Paul Walker) will appear in "Fast 8" to be portrayed by his brother Cody Walker with the help of a little CGI.

However, Polygon confirmed that Cody will not be appearing in "Fast 8." A representative from Universal Pictures killed all rumors by saying that "there's no truth" behind the rumors.

Diesel shared that the official trailer for "Fast 8" will be released on Dec. 11 on the screens at Times Square. It seems that the appearance of the movie trailer at Times Square is connected to the plot, as Diesel says that "everything is going to make sense" once the trailers debut.

"Fast 8" premieres on April 14, 2017.

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