Chris Morgan writing FAST AND FURIOUS 6 as part of Universal deal

With Fast Five opening on April 29, it's writer Chris Morgan has signed a two-year first-look production deal with Universal. He also wrote the third and fourth installments of the Fast and the Furious franchise and will begin writing Fast Six. Morgan has been a key player for the franchise, having worked alongside director Justin Lin, who directed the same three movies. He also wrote Universal's Wanted and 47 Ronin, the Keanu Reeves samurai epic currently in production. He's also developing a film based on the popular Japanese monster game Bakugan for the studio.

Many studios are doing away with producer deals lately so this is a rare move. Some may view this deal as a studio rewarding past success, Morgan has a different opinion that he shared in a statement:

"I don't want to be the guy who gets a vanity production deal and does nothing. I want to be the guy who goes out there and busts my ass and fixes broken stories and finds material to bring back -- quite frankly, as a reward to the studio that has worked with me for so long. We have a very effective partnership, and we want to get some big movies off the ground."

Universal co-chairman Donna Langley speaks highly of Morgan, saying he's more than just a writer.

"He's been not only integral to the Fast and Furious franchise, he comes up with fresh ideas and he thinks like a producer when we have budget conversations. We wanted to show him our appreciation, and we selfishly wanted to make sure his home was here. We don't want him going anywhere else."

Morgan is currently setting up his production team, and talked a bit about the projects he plans to tackle:

"I grew up on Raiders, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard. Those are in my wheel house. Those are the movies I want to find, I want to help make. They're genre movies but heroic ones, ones that have a hyper-real sense to them. Summer movies."

He goes on to talk about how he got his start in writing:

"I have never worked for DreamWorks but I owe my entire career to these people who liked the writing and for absolutely no reason whatsoever -- other than they were good people -- gave me chance. It's amazing how something so small that people can do can make such a profound impact on people's lives."

I am very excited to see Fast Five, and am excited to know that there will be a sixth film. Looking back, I really have enjoyed the franchise with the exception of the second film. Morgan definitely knows how to write action films. I think 47 Ronin sounds really cool as well. It will be interesting to see what projects he lines up at Universal.

What are your thoughts on this news?