One month since news of Charlize Theron’s casting sent the extended Fast and Furious family into a tail-spin, Universal Pictures has officially premiered the first image of the actress on set of Fast 8 as Cipher, the all-new big bad set to terrorize Dominic Toretto and his crew.
Sporting a Metallica tee next to a small arsenal of expensive firepower, it’s an exciting tease of what’s to come, with the movie’s official Twitter account noting that although Vin Diesel and his band of petrolheads have faced “military, mercenaries & more,” they’re about to come up against a whole new breed of villainy.
Plot details for Fast 8 are still being kept guarded behind closed doors. As such, how Theron’s Cipher fits into the narrative – a relation to Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw? – is really anyone’s guess, though we do understand F. Gary Gray’s hotly-anticipated sequel will culminate with a grand sequence in New York City.
That’ll bring an end to a journey that already spans Cuba and the bitter-cold plains of Iceland, and set photos have showcased the massive production steering Gray’s vision onto the big screen. On board for that intoxicating ride are Theron and Diesel, along with Michelle Rodriguez as Letty, Lucas Black as Sean – returning to the series for the first time since Tokyo Drift – Tyrese Gibson as Roman, Ludacris as Tej, and Dwayne Johnson’s former law enforcer-turned-ally, Hobbs.
Fast 8 has been penciled in for launch on April 14, 2017. Bringing the curtain down on Universal’s lucrative series for the time being are Fast & Furious 9 and Fast & Furious 10 – Justin Lin is wanted for the latter – which are due to arrive on April 19, 2019 and April 2, 2021, respectively.