By Travis Johnson
The Fast and the Furious series is concrete proof that the world is incrementally but exponentially improving all the time, a steady upward curve that can take us from “this is just Point Break with cars” to “holy crap, Statham is fighting The Rock” in just seven movies. As if to underline this thesis, news broke early today that Dame Helen Mirren will be joining the gang for F. Gary Gray’s Fast 8.
This isn’t out of nowhere. Mirren has previously said that she’d love to get in on the action franchise, and main man Vin Diesel has let it be known that he wouldn’t be averse to the notion, presumably so he can teach another senior female acting treasure how to play Dungeon & Dragons (Diesel DMed for Judy Dench on Chronicles of Riddick – she now runs the game for her grandkids). Mirren already has action chops; she was arguably the best thing in Red, and inarguably the best thing in Red 2, so the prospect of her blazing away at or with Vin and co. in Fast 8 isn’t as alien as it might seem at first taste.
There’s no word yet as to what character Mirren would be playing, but if we had our druthers, she’d be Kurt Russell’s estranged ex-wife turned mercenary fixer, just to see the two spend the movie sniping at each other. Fast 8 is due in the first quarter of 2017.
That’s some balls, she’s the gutsiest movie heroin of all time.
All hail queen Mirren!