If anyone ever doubted the powers of persuasion that Helen Mirren holds over Hollywood, her role in The Fate of the Furious should put such notions to rest. In the time it takes Dominic Toretto to drive a quarter mile, the Academy Award-winning powerhouse went from wanting a role in the Fast & Furious franchise to actually having one. But it's not going to be that easy to get her back for Fast & Furious 9 or10, as Dame Mirren has made the following demand that would ensure her participation. But it may not be so easy. Speaking recently at TIFF she said:
I'd love to come back. But, guys, I want to drive next time.
Thinking back to how insistent Helen Mirren was about getting a role in The Fate of the Furious, we have to admit it was quite surprising when her character Magdalene Shaw was only present for only two scenes; that role also involved no driving action. Don't get us wrong, those big moments of Magdalene's importance to the resolution of the eighth installment's plot add a lot of fun to everything that went down. But Mirren's remark above has reminded us of just what initially drove her to the project in the first place.
As Dame Helen Mirren mentioned in a previous interview, she's been known for doing her own driving in her performances. This, of course, had her wanting to be part of the Fast & Furious franchise, a franchise that has some of the hardest driving stunts in all of filmdom. Seeing as Mirren was a bit of an ace in a Top Gear guest spot, that's just more evidence as to why the actress who won golden honors in The Queen would be a no-brainer when it comes to who should be behind the wheel.
But, as EW was reminded during its coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival, this sadly never came to pass in The Fate of the Furious, and it's something that Helen Mirren isn't likely to let the producers of the Fast & Furious franchise forget any time soon. And quite frankly, they shouldn't be allowed to. Magdalene Shaw needs more screen time in the world that both of her sons inhabit, and if anything, their reunion could make for some interesting happenings in the next two installments of the saga.
With the Shaw family now reunited, and all debts presumably paid to the Toretto family, they can go along and continue their own criminal operations however they see fit. Should the still-on-the-run Cipher decide to start another round of panic, the Shaw family just might show up with honored intentions. Not only would this give Helen Mirren the chance to be a powerful force behind the wheel, it would also probably do a lot towards addressing the feelings fans have had about how quickly Luke and Deckard Shaw have been seemingly forgiven for their sins.
The stakes are pretty clear: if Dame Helen Mirren is to be expected to return to the Fast & Furious franchise, then she needs to be behind the wheel of something fast. With Fast 9 on deck for April 9, 2019, there's still time to make it happen.
