Fast & Furious 8 already has a dynamite cast, including Charlize Theron, who tore up the screen in Mad Max: Fury Road, and Kristofer Hivju, who plays the Brienne-loving Tormund in Game of Thrones. But now the sequel is seeing Red.
What The Queen wants, The Queen gets. After lobbying for a role in the franchise, Helen Mirren revealed in an interview with Elle magazine that her efforts paid off.
"[Eye in the Sky] fits in very, very well with what I want to be doing. I want to be making film and theater, but film is particularly relevant. I like it to be serious. Of course, having said that I'm about to do Fast & Furious 8. But that's for the fun of it. So maybe that's what I want as well, some fun and some relevant, serious, important movies."
She added, “I've always rather loved driving. I said, 'I'll be in it, but only if I'm allowed to drive if I do drive in it.' But we'll see. We'll see how it transpires.”
In an earlier interview with Yahoo Movies from 2015, she said it was her “great ambition” to be a part of the Fast & Furious saga. Before praising actor Vin Diesel, she said, “My claim to fame is I always do my own driving — I was on Top Gear, and I did [my lap] in a very good time. I keep putting it out there, and they never ask me.” She then promised, “I’ll be in Fast & Furious 8.”
This wouldn’t be the first time the Oscar-winning actress got behind the wheel (or a semi-automatic) for a movie. She played the gun-toting killer Victoria in the first two Red movies, which features an older crowd of ex-black-ops forces coming out of retirement to fight the good fight. So if you think Mirren can’t keep up with the likes of Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, and Michelle Rodriguez, think again.
Fast & Furious 8 is directed by F. Gary Gray and features Scott Eastwood, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Lucas Black, and Kurt Russell in roles. Not too much is currently known about the plot other than Theron’s role as new villain Cipher, who’ll prove a much different challenge for Dom’s crew, and Johnson’s Hobbs is sporting a much different look these days. Production filmed scenes in Cuba, and Diesel also teased a New York City location for the story.
Gray continues filming ahead of the scheduled theatrical release beginning April 14, 2017.
