When it comes to not messing around, no movie franchise keeps things smooth and businesslike like the Fast & Furious series, which recently went ahead and locked-in the release dates for its next (and supposedly final) three installments, and is now actively rounding up the necessary returning cast members to finish out one of the unlikeliest blockbuster megabrands a late-90s B-movie more or less stumbled into. All kidding aside, this is easier said than done, as the series is now so popular that much of its once eagerly-available cast is now a lot busier than they were previously; while others were constantly in demand to begin with.
One such sought-after star, though, has already made it clear he’s getting back behind the wheel. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has confirmed that his implausibly muscular FBI agent Hobbs will indeed return for the upcoming eight Fast & Furious installment, Fast 8.
Offering details on an Instagram video clip of his ultra-intensive bodybuilding schedule (see below), Johnson outlined the impressively-loaded schedule of upcoming films he’s bulking up his famous physique for, explaining:
“Real deal. Our 2016 shooting schedule is a grueling 12 months straight of filming (Ballers, Baywatch, Fast & Furious 8 and the big one, Rampage) it requires me putting together a team of professionals from all areas of business who bring their own expertise to the table.”
At this point the premise of Fast & Furious 8 is not known (these last three sequels are said to comprise a final “trilogy” in their own right, and presumably the driving of fast automobiles will figure prominently) but the prior installment found Hobbs becoming fully part of Dominic Toretto’s (Vin Diesel’s) extended “family” of heroes, who have themselves transitioned from outlaw street-racers to automotive-based spies/mercenaries/vigilantes over the course of seven adventures. Pretty much everyone involved has made plenty of enemies amid those same exploits, so there’s no telling just who might come calling to cause trouble this time.
But, like The Rock said, this is hardly all that he’s got happening. As he mentioned, HBO has ordered a second season of his TV series, Ballers, and he’s set to headline the reboot of the iconic 1990s camp-classic syndicated series Baywatch (said to be a parody of the original in the vein of 21 Jump Street). After that, he’s scheduled to begin work as the (human) star of the big-budget kaiju spectacle Rampage; an adaptation of the classic arcade game about cities being destroyed by giant gorilla, lizard and wolf monsters.
That’s to say nothing of the roles that are still only planned at this stage, such as his previously announced intention to star in a remake of the John Carpenter martial-arts classic Big Trouble in Little China, and his vocal turn as the demigod Maui in Disney’s upcoming Polynesian princess adventure Moana. On top of all that, his original starmaking role in the world of Professional Wrestling has come calling as well, as Johnson is confirmed to reappear as “The Rock” at WWE’s Wrestlemania XXXII event in April.
Fast 8 will opens in theaters April 17, 2017, Fast and Furious 9 opens April 19, 2019, and Fast and Furious 10 on April 2, 2021.
Source: Dwayne Johnson
