Helen Mirren has been officially cast in "Fast 8," the first film in the final trilogy for the long-running franchise, but speaking to Entertainment Weekly, she confirmed that she will not be driving a vehicle in the film. She did not, however, confirm if there would be stunt drivers handling the driving scenes for her.
The actress explained that she did want to drive but unfortunately did not. This might be due to an issue with the insurance companies or because a stunt driver might already be contracted to do the more dangerous driving sequences. It is also possible her character stays in an office and is never required by the story to drive.
Mirren also expressed a little uneasiness and that she was quite nervous going into the project, pointing out that she was one of the new faces on set. The rest of the cast have been together for eight films now and the series spans well over a decade.
"I'm very nervous," she stated. "because when you're going on to a set with people who have been doing this for so long, basically, they all know each other, they've worked together, they know what they're doing. I'll be, you know, the newcomer, the newbie."
Back in March 2015 the actress did tell Yahoo! Movies that she wanted to be a mad driver in a "Fast and Furious" movie and while she may not have been allowed or written in as one, she is at least starring in an entry in the series. It is unconfirmed if she is a protagonist working alongside Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) or a villain.
Other than Helen Mirren, actress Charlize Theron is another new face in the franchise and she is confirmed to be portraying the main antagonist of the film.
"Fast 8" will release in theaters on April 14, 2017.
