Los Angeles, April 24 (IANS): The eighth instalment of "Fast and Furious" will release on April 14, 2017.

This would be the first instalment of the franchise without actor Paul Walker.

Speaking during the theatre owners' gathering at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, actor Vin Diesel revealed that the sequel to the recently-released "Furious 7" would hit North America on April 14, 2017, reports aceshowbiz.com.

"I swear to you and I swear to my brother upstairs we're going to make the best movie you've ever seen," Diesel said.

"Furious 7" was completed with the help of Walker's brothers as body doubles following his death in an unrelated car crash on November 2013. It was a box office giant for Universal, collecting a global haul of $1.2 billion to become the biggest instalment in the franchise and the seventh highest-grossing movie of all time.

It joined the elite billion club after just 17 days of release, faster than any other movies and became the first Universal film to reach the milestone in its initial theatrical release.

Details of the upcoming entry are still scarce, but Diesel is expected to reprise his role and so is actor Kurt Russell.

James Wan is reportedly eyed to direct again, and actress Eva Mendes from "2 Fast 2 Furious" is rumoured to return as agent Monica Fuentes. Actress Helen Mirren has expressed her interest in playing villain in this eighth instalment.