Jason Statham Races Into Fast & Furious 7

[Wangman Page]

When it comes to running before you can walk, or as is the case with this franchise, bombing down the street at 80 MPH before you can confidently find the biting point, Fast & Furious 7 has its pedal to the metal. Fast & Furious 6 is still weeks away from hitting cinema screens yet its follow up is well underway. The latest chunk of news? Recently-back-from-the-dead Michelle Rodriguez made comments to DesdeHollywood confirming that Jason Statham is definitely in the series.

The rumours going round re: his alleged role all point to him becoming the film’s villain. Allegedly he’ll play Ian Shaw, the brother of Fast & Furious 6 bad guy Owen Shaw (played by Luke Evans.) Much like Fast Five had a mid-credits exposition sequence, so too will Fast & Furious 6. As we learned of Michelle Rodriguez’ return via that method, we’ll witness Statham make his Fast debut at the end of Fast 6. Confused? Well, don’t be. Here’s what Rodriguez had to say about working with a crew of badasses:

“Jason Statham, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, when you see these guys in a room you know they belong together [...] You can see in their eyes that they have gone through a lot [...] I applaud Universal for getting him on-board!â€

News has kicked up in recent weeks with the sequel storming into pre-production. Aiming for a shoot this summer, the franchise has seen the departure of director Justin Lin who helmed the previous four instalments, including the soon-to-be-released Fast & Furious 6. The announcement of his replacement James Wan has been met with glee, at the hopes he’ll steer future sequels in a new direction.

Speaking at the Universal conference at CinemaCon, Fast alumni Vin Diesel made it clear the franchise has the horse power (geddit?) to…well, never end really. He boasted the possibility of “two or three more movies down the road.†Expect to watch Fast & Furious 17: Still Gassy, with your grandkids.

Fast & Furious 6 arrives in theatres on May 24th, 2013….and Fast & Furious 7 is scheduled for July 11th, 2014.

I really wish Vin Diesel and Dwayne would sign up to be the villains in Expendable 3. Hope this is a bridge to getting them in that too along with Segal.

 

[Postman Dave]

Rocky is not yet a lock for Fast 7 last time I checked. Statham may simply be a replacement for him. Cool nonetheless though.

 

[Fuji Vice]

Rocky is not yet a lock for Fast 7 last time I checked. Statham may simply be a replacement for him. Cool nonetheless though.

I thought so too, but apparently he's now been confirmed...

In a chat with Collider, series producer Neal Moritz said "we are gonna film this summer. We have been talking about it for quite a while, because while we’re making any of the Fast movies we’re always talking about what could happen in future Fast films. So it’s something that we have been talking about for quite a while.”

Moritz also confirmed that Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs will be back for the next installment as well.

 

[Postman Dave]

huh, must have been recent then, as the last time Rock did a Q&A on Twitter he was still undecided.

 

[Fuji Vice]

huh, must have been recent then, as the last time Rock did a Q&A on Twitter he was still undecided.

I was sure I'd seen that too. This story was dated April 25th, do you remember if The Rock Q&A was before that?

 

[Postman Dave]

I was sure I'd seen that too. This story was dated April 25th, do you remember if The Rock Q&A was before that?

Interestingly, the 26th

 

[Fuji Vice]

Interestingly, the 26th

Really? : Damn, I guess we can't really rely on anything yet.

 

[Wangman Page]

Isnt part 7 to take place back in LA where it all started

 

[Castiel]

Statham playing a bad guy intrigues me. I've never been a fan of the series but it really feels like it's coming back to life these days. Luke Evans as the villain in 6 looks great, awesome dude.