Buckle Your Seat Belt: Dame Helen Mirren Joins the Cast of ‘Fast 8’

I am overjoyed to be writing this next sentence. Academy Award winner Dame Helen Mirren has just joined the cast of Fast 8. Yes. Really!

My god. Helen Mirren and Charlize Theron together at last. How will one screen be able to handle such awesome woman power?

Mirren, who recently joined the Winchester Mystery House thrilled, broke the news to Elle Magazine while promoting her next film. They wrote:

Next up: Mirren will head into the Fast and Furious franchise, joining Vin Diesel and crew for the eighth film in the series, out in 2017. While both the actress and Diesel have teased her involvement, reportedly as the movie's villain, Mirren exclusively confirmed her casting to us as she discussed her career and what she learned from making Eye In The Sky.

Eye in the Sky is a military-themed thriller focusing on drone strikes, but Mirren is no stranger to action. She starred in 2010's RED and its sequel RED 2.

“I like [film] to be serious. Of course, having said that I'm about to do Fast and Furious 8. But that's for the fun of it,” she told Elle. “So maybe that's what I want as well, some fun and some relevant, serious, important movies.”

Considering the role automobiles play in the franchise, Elle asked her if she was a fan of cars:

Well, yes. 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. Film is a wonderful thing and it can be so many different things. I don't want to turn my back on any of the different ways movies can be. I love the movies. I love going to the films. I like very serious films, I love foreign films, and I love big, fun movies–as long as they're well made and they've got good scripts. That's the most important thing.

Yes. Good.

This time around the film is being directed by F. Gary Gray and set for an April 14, 2017 release. Scott Eastwood and Kristofer Hivju (aka Tormund from Game of Thrones) recently joined the cast which reportedly includes Vin Diesel, Kurt Russell, Michelle Rodriguez, Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Lucas Black, Ruby Rose, Jason Statham, Eva Mendes, Ronda Rousey, and Joanna J?drzejczyk. The ninth and tenth installments of the franchise have already been announced and given release dates.

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