At this point, we should assume that any movie Vin Diesel wants to make will eventually zoom and/or noseslide its way into theaters, fueled in equal parts by Monster Energy drinks and the actor’s sheer enthusiasm for his own projects. Fast 8, the latest entry in the Fast And Furious series, is humming along nicely after shedding an adjective and article from its title. Diesel has also managed to attract a fair amount of talent to help him reintroduce audiences to his other action franchise, as Samuel L. Jackson, Jet Li, and Tony Jaa have all signed on for xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage. And according to The Hollywood Reporter, Toni Collette will lend some gravitas to the film as the head of the intelligence agency that’s always been in the background of the gnarly proceedings.
Collette will play a “bureaucrat in the intelligence service” in the sequel, which will center on “two teams of badasses that go head-to-head.” THR wasn’t able to shed much light on the plot, but we do know that Li will head up the Xander-less faction in this clash of extreme yet telegenic individuals. This will probably leave Collette to serve as a straitlaced foil to Xander Cage (Diesel), who would much rather do an ollie over the rules. The film is in production and is expected to be released next year.