Universal Pictures is putting the gears in motion for a third installment of "The Fast and the Furious" and is hoping to put Vin Diesel back in the driver's seat of the Neal Moritz-produced franchise.

Diesel and Paul Walker starred in the first "Fast," which grossed $144.5 million. Although Universal originally sought Diesel to reprise his role as Dominic Toretto in the sequel, negotiations broke down, and the studio opted to build the second film in the series around Walker, who teamed up with Tyrese for last year's "2 Fast 2 Furious," which grossed $127 million domestically.

Universal, which will release Diesel starrer "The Chronicles of Riddick" on June 11, has begun to rev up the "Fast" team by hiring Chris Morgan to pen a script that would accommodate Diesel's return to the street-racing franchise.

The studio said no deal is in place with the actor, adding that it is "looking to bring back certain elements from the first two films."

While reps for Diesel said he is interested in the project, pending completion of the screenplay, Walker's reps said he is not currently committed to a third movie.

Scott Stuber and Holly Bario are the production execs overseeing the project for Universal.

Morgan worked with Moritz on last year's "S.W.A.T." He also is one of the writers on New Line's upcoming "Cellular." His other projects in development include "The Bermuda Triangle" and "The Darkness."

Morgan is repped by Broder/Webb/Chervin/Silbermann, H2F Entertainment and Colden, McKuin & Frankel.

Diesel, who starred in "XXX" and "Pitch Black," is repped by Endeavor and the Firm.