After a lengthy period of speculation, Oscar winning actress Charlize Theron has officially joined the Fast and Furious franchise. Specific regarding her role are vague as of now, but she will be appearing likely as villain of some fashion. The eighth installment in Universal Pictures’ stalwart franchise is scheduled to go into production sometime next month with F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton) taking the director’s chair. Franchise vets Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham are all returning. Deadline broke the news of Theron’s casting.
Theron has had good luck with franchises in the past. Her performance in the 2012 blockbuster Snow White and the Huntsman helped propel a second outing – The Huntsman: Winter’s War (in which the former Monster star also will appear in) opens in few weeks. She also appeared in Ridley Scott’s Alien expansion Prometheus (2012) and last year’s Oscar winning smash Mad Max: Fury Road, in which her Imperator Furiosa has already become iconic. Her automotive expertise from George Miller’s acclaimed actioner might just come in handy for Fast 8 as well. To boot, Theron co-starred in Gray’s 2003 car heavy action film The Italian Job.
Our crew will face its greatest adversary ever in our next film as we welcome Charlize Theron to the Fast family. 4.14.17. #F8
Posted by Fast & Furious on Thursday, April 7, 2016
Outside of Fast 8, Theron has a heavy slate upcoming. The Huntsman: Winter’s War is two weeks away and her drama The Last Face (directed by Sean Penn) is potentially headed for premiere at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. Theron leads her voice to Laika’s upcoming Kudo and the Two Strings and recently wrapped the thriller The Coldest City. She’s currently filming American Express and news broke earlier this week of a possible reunion for the actress and her Young Adult director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody.
Fast 8 is due in theaters on April 14, 2017.
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