Justin Lin, who has been with The Fast and the Furious franchise since the third installment The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, leading up to this summer's Fast & Furious 6, has had to drop out of directing Fast & Furious 7. The reason is because the movie is moving too fast towards production, and the director would have to start preproduction work while he's still working to get Fast & Furious 6 ready for its May 2013 release date.

Universal Pictures has had to find a new director fast, and according to Latino Review, they have the hunt narrowed down to three guys who seem custom built for the job.

At the top of the list is Jeff Wadlow, who directed this summer's uber-violent superhero sequel Kick-Ass 2. He also directed 2009's Never Back Down, which falls perfectly in line with The Fast and the Furious. And he would be working for the same studio as those two projects.

Next up is Brad Furman, director of The Lincoln Lawyer. His next release will be Runner, Runner with Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake, which revolves around an offshore gambling operation and arrives in theaters this September.

Finally, third in line is Harald Zwart, the man behind The Karate Kid reboot and the sequel to The Pink Panther 2, as well as Agent Cody Banks. He seems the least likely for the job, but he could surprise us.

Universe is expected to make an announcement about the director early next week, as Fast & Furious 7 is planning to shoot in Los Angeles this summer for a May 2014 release date. Who would you like to see direct the next movie in this popular franchise?