It’s official! After much rumoring, Universal Pictures has confirmed that Oscar winner and expert wheel-woman Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road, Monster) will be playing the villain in the upcoming Fast 8! This comes after yesterday’s news that Game of Thrones star Kristofer Hivju will play one of said villain’s henchmen. Besides her expert war rig driving in last year’s Mad Max sequel, Theron previously did some heavy driving for Fast 8 helmer F. Gary Gray on 2003’s remake of The Italian Job.
Gray is directing the April 14, 2017 release, which is planned to launch a new trilogy of films. Fast 8 will be followed by a ninth film to be released April 19, 2019 and a tenth film planned to hit theaters April 2, 2021. Fast and Furious 8, 9 and 10 aren’t the only films new that Universal has planned for the franchise, either. It was recently revealed that plans are underway for both Fast and Furious spinoffs and prequels.
The cast is confirmed to include franchise regulars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Elsa Pataky and Lucas Black reprising their roles as street racers-turned-international criminals-turned-super-secret agents. Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson and Kurt Russell are expected to return as well.
Principal photography for Fast 8 is planned to take place in both New York and Atlanta, Georgia. Recent reports suggest that two other possible locations for the film could be the previously-unexplored Russia and Iceland.
Theron will next be seen in Universal’s The Huntsman: Winter’s War, which opens on in the U.S. on April 22.
