Helen Mirren may have just been slumming it by playing various English monarchs over the years—turns out, she’s really into the Fast And The Furious movies, and has been angling to join the franchise for some time. Mirren, who can currently be seen in Eye In The Sky, revealed last year that she’s a huge fan of Vin Diesel’s “family” films. “I keep putting it out there, and they never ask me,” Mirren said at the time. This, despite all the great driving she did on Top Gear (before Chris Evans ruined it):
Well, it turns out that Diesel has a big heart in addition to a shiny dome, as Mirren tells Elle her prayers to the adrenaline gods have been answered, and she is set to appear in Fast 8. Mirren said that she’s going to chase her dramatic turn in Gavin Hood’s timely film by strapping herself into a 1970 Dodge Charger R/T to outrun—and probably outwit—everyone else in Fast 8. Well, probably not Charlize Theron, who’s going to chew scenery as a Hannibal Lecter-like character. Mirren says she’s asked to do all of her own driving, so it sounds like she’s planning to help Dwayne Johnson “disrupt” the franchise.