The Fast & Furious film franchise is mainly known for its fast cars, beautiful women, and constant reminders on the importance of family. It’s also known for being one of the most outgoing franchises as far as film locations are concerned. It’s been to Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Abu Dhabi, London, Spain, and Mexico. That doesn’t even count the places it’s been to in the U.S., including Los Angeles and Miami, and the place it will reportedly go to for the 8th installment, New York City. But as we’ve seen in the previous films, the world of Fast & Furious isn’t just contained in one locale and it appears that Fast 8 won’t be any different.

There’s already been rumors that there will be scenes shot in Cuba, but according to Icelandic newspaper Visir, another exotic has been confirmed as a filming location for the movie. The place? Akranes, a small town in Iceland. Yes. Iceland.

Town mayor Regína Ásvaldsdóttir confirmed the report, saying that the film->ke3897 crew is expected to arrive in April. There are no details on who among the cast members will be in the shoot, but the scenes that will be shot in Akranes, specifically by the harbor and in the so-called Cement Fields, are expected to play prominent parts in the movie’s plot. Visir also added that the film crew are already planning on shooting a scene that would involve the largest explosion ever in the Nordic country.

Fast 8 will be directed by Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray. Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, and the rest of the cast are all expected to return. There are also rumors that Eva Mendes will a comeback after last appearing in 2 Fast 2 Furious and that Lucas Black will play a more prominent role in the movie. Oh, and Charlize Theron could be the main baddie in the movie. Take that for what it’s worth.

The movie will hit theaters on April 14, 2017.

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Why it matters

The Fast & Furious franchise has been one of Universal Studio’s biggest moneymakers in recent years so you can’t fault the big wigs for breaking the bank with its production costs. The franchise itself has become such a global sensation that doing an entire movie in just one location would be a massive letdown. Personally, I like the choice of Iceland as a location because it will be completely different than anything the F&F franchise has done before.

Think about it. Most of the locations that have been used are warm weather climates. The closest place I can think of that approximates the European vibe is London and even then, comparing that megacity to a small town 28 miles outside Reykjavik is a total stretch of the imagination. There’s also Azerbaijan, one of the settings in Fast & Furious, but everybody knows that they actually shot those scenes in Pikes Peak, Colorado.

So yeah, Iceland. I’m on board with this location because it gives Fast 8 a completely different look than any of the last seven movies. The obscurity of the location also has a little James Bond feel to it, doesn’t it? If anything, I wouldn’t mind seeing snow races in the movie. Or better yet, how about drifting tanks like the ones we saw the USMC do in a joint exercise with its Norwegian counterparts last week? That would really take the F&F franchise to the next level.

As far as the choice of location is concerned, Akranes isn’t exactly a neophyte when it comes to hosting Hollywood productions. Fans of the Fast 7 Netflix series will be delighted to know that Akranes is one of the major locations of the show. Granted, Fast 8 is in a totally different league than the Fast 7, but those who are wondering if the Icelandic town can handle such a massive production can take comfort knowing that the town can handle the hysteria that’ll come with hosting some of the biggest names in Hollywood.