As the most recent Fast & Furious movie continues to run over box office records Hollywood has their eyes planted firmly on the next film in the franchise. As plans begin to rev up for Furious 8, one of the world’s greatest living actresses has said that she wants in, and star Vin Diesel is all for it.
As we reported here last March, Helen Mirren has spoken up and made it known that she would love to do a Fast & Furious movie, calling it her "great ambition." Access Hollywood asked Diesel, the star of the franchise, if he would like to see her in the next movie. His answer was clear:
"Of course I would! Who wouldn't? It’s Helen.
Mirren specifically stated that she wants to play a villain in the series. Since it looks like Furious 7’s big bad, Jason Statham, will be returning for another round, we would love to see the two of them team up together to take on our heroes. We know that Mirren can hold her own the action genre after her turn as an aging, but still deadly, sniper in RED and its sequel. It appears Mirren enjoys making films like this just as much as we enjoy seeing her in them. Those movies also contain some great car chase sequences, although nothing quite on par with Furious.
It’s great to see Vin Diesel publicly supporting Helen Mirren for a role like this. As much fun as the RED films were, they were based entirely on the premise that the characters were getting too old to be action stars, even if they still had a bit of skill left. Putting Mirren front and center as a legitimate action icon alongside people like Diesel, Statham, and The Rock might go a long way to show Hollywood that older actresses still have value, even in the age of the non-stop blockbuster. This is something that Mirren herself has spoken out about, so getting the role would be a double win for her. We expect Mirren would do most of her action scenes from behind the wheel of a fast car, something she has legitimate skill at, but if there’s a scene where she breaks something over The Rock’s head, we’ll just buy our tickets now, thank you.
Time will tell if anything comes from this. Actors campaigning for roles has absolutely worked in the past. While plans are already in motion for a couple more Fast & Furious sequels one would think that if Mirren wants in, and there’s a role that would fit her, even if it required some character changes, there’s not reason not to add her to the cast.
