EA and Dreamworks have announced a sequel to the hugely popular Fast and Furious series of films which…..wait, oh, sorry, it says here it’s going to be a Need for Speed film, not a Fast and Furious film. Is there a difference? I mean, really?

Anyway, EA have today announced that Dreamworks have acquired the rights to create a film based off of the long-running Need for Speed series of games, something which has been on the table for quite some time now.  The new film won’t be based off of any game from the series in particular, but rather off the franchise as a whole. Essentially, then, what they’re saying is they’re going to make a flick about cars and would like to be able to slap on the Need for Speed name to help with sales.

Penned for a 2014 release, EA are describing the film as, “a fast-paced, high-octane film rooted in the tradition of the great car culture films of the ’70s while being extremely faithful to the spirit of the video game franchise.  In Need for Speed, the cars are hot, the racing is intense and the story keeps players at the edge of their seat.” I’m sorry, the story keeps players at the edge of their seat? Are we talking about the same series of games?

The director for this adaption will be Scott Waugh, the man best know for Act of Valor, a movie which featured active NAVY Seals and that had some great cinematography. More importantly to this project, though, is that Waugh has had some considerable experience with stunt teams, having worked on films like Biker Boyz and the Italian Job. The whole thing is being written byGeorge Gatins who was the executive producer on Dreamworks’ She’s Out of My League back in 2010. George Gatins has written the film’s script with the help of his brother John who is on production duties this time around, having previously written the script for Real Steel.

The Need for Speed movie is set to start filming in early 2013 with a release date of 2014. As for the game franchise, the next Need for Speed, being developed by the boffins at Criterion, is due for release on October 30th of this year.

Hopefully Dreamworks manage something good with this to rival the Fast and Furious series, which remains a firm favorite of mine.