More Fast and Furious 9 casting news continues to break as the possibly penultimate film in the franchise enters its third week of filming. Universal Pictures has kept the production of Fast 9 under wraps, to the point that the only major casting news we’ve heard has been from franchise star/producer Vin Diesel himself. That’s the case today, as Diesel took to Instagram to reveal that Charlize Theronand Helen Mirren are reprising their roles from The Fate of the Furious, the eighth entry in the franchise.
Theron played the villain of Fate, a cyberterrorist named Cipher who kidnapped Dom Toretto’s baby son and forced him to work against his friends (or should I say family?). The last time we saw Theron’s character, she was jumping out of a plane with a parachute. Mirren, meanwhile, appeared in Fate as the mother of Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham). She’s also set to reprise that role in this summer’s Fast & Furious spinoff Hobbs & Shaw, although one assumes Diesel would prefer the less said about that movie the better.
In the Instagram video, Diesel says they’re still shooting Fast 9 in London three weeks in, but there will no doubt be other exotic locations throughout the shoot. He also once again confirms that John Cena is a new addition to the cast, though it’ll be interesting to see who he’s playing. The villain perhaps? Or will he literally be filling the hole left by Dwayne Johnson‘s Luke Hobbs? Justin Lin is back in the director’s chair this time around, having helmed Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious, Fast Five, and Fast & Furious 6. Rumor has it that he plans on closing out the franchise with Fast 9 and Fast 10, but so far that hasn’t been confirmed. Check out Diesel’s Instagram video below. Fast & Furious 9 is due to hit theaters on May 22, 2020.
