New Fast and the Furious races to meet fans' hopes

The Fate of the Furious features Jason Statham. [Photo provided to China Daily]

This action film veteran best known for his The Negotiator (1998) and The Italian Job (2003), has reasons for confidence when it comes to prolonging the popularity of the long saga.

"The pressure for me is to be creative, not in terms of money," says Gray.

"There are people who have grown up with the characters.

"They care about what will happen next. They care about the characters in a way you don't normally have for one movie. So, as long as the ideas feel true, fresh, and honest, the franchise will always have a fan base."

Indeed, this eighth edition tries to be fresh.

The Fate of the Furious is the first major Hollywood studio movie shot in Cuba in the past 50-plus years, after US-Cuban relations got unfrozen after decades of confrontation.

As Moritz sees it: "Somebody's gonna do it, and we wanted to be the first one."