“THE Fast and Furious” franchise is known for globetrotting to some of the world’s most exotic and exciting locations, taking stars Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris and the late Paul Walker from the streets of Los Angeles to places like Japan, London and Abu Dhabi.

    But the eighth installment could potentially send the racing action series to a place rarely explored by Hollywood films: Cuba.

    Sources say director F. Gary Gray recently returned from a scouting trip that included the previously embargoed nation as part of professional research trip. Sources say the production has moved forward with the paperwork to shoot there, making it the first Hollywood studio film to shoot on the island since the embargo was set in the 1960s.

    “Universal Pictures is currently in the process seeking approval from the United States and Cuban governments to explore shooting a portion of the next installment of the ‘Fast & Furious’ series in Cuba,” said a statement from the studio.

    It’s been a little over a year since the United States chose to re-establish ties with Cuba and ease restrictions on American travel to the island.

    In March, Conan O’Brien went to Havana, the first time a late-night show had appeared in Cuba since 1962, when the U.S. embargo began. An indie film, Bob Yari’s “Papa,” became the first Hollywood film to shoot in Cuba since the embargo when it filmed on the island earlier in 2014. And Showtime announced Wednesday that one episode of “House of Lies” will shoot an episode in Havana, becoming the first American series to shoot there.

    “It has a unique beauty to it,” says Yari of shooting in Cuba. “You’re in a very unique setting which is really hard to duplicate anywhere else. People have tried in places like the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, but Cuba has such unique features like the Morro Castle and the Malecon. It’s a beautiful location.”

    “Papa,” starring Giovanni Ribisi and Minka Kelly, centered on a journalist who befriends Ernest and Mary Hemingway, who lived in Cuba for many years. (SD-Agencies)