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"Furious 8" doesn't hit theaters until April 2017, but Vin Diesel is already hard at work campaigning for an Oscar nod. If you'll remember the bald actor and face of the automotive action franchise said that "Fast 7" was Oscar-worthy material. That statement was based on, well, mostly his opinion. This new proclamation, made to Entertainment Tonight (ET), is almost entirely opinion-based as well, but it's at least slightly more realistic. Diesel believes "Furious 8" has a shot at winning over Oscar voters because of its director, F. Gary Gray.

F. Gary Gray was the director of "Straight Outta Compton," the critically acclaimed N.W.A. biopic that received an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay. However, Gray didn't receive a nomination for best director and the film wasn't nominated for best picture, two categories it would have looked right at home in. As such, Vin Diesel believes that F. Gary Gray has a chip on his shoulder. Said chip motivated him to direct his ass off on "Furious 8" which should win over Oscar voters…at least that's the plan. "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. Wait till you see what he does!" the actor told ET.

Aside from making predictions that won't come true, Diesel shared a bit of insight into what Dominic Toretto is going through in the eighth film. "Fast 8 is different. It's very dark. 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." We're not sure what Toretto will be conflicted about or where his darkness will lead him, but like everyone else we'll be watching when the trailer for the film drops on December 11th, with Vin Diesel saying that "every screen in Times Square will be playing the trailer" and that "it will hit you like a ton of bricks."