As we previously reported, Jason Statham has passed on an offer to rev his engine in the next installment of The Fast and the Furious franchise.  While many were hoping he’d join in on the fun, the man’s plate is pretty full* and it seems he’d rather just do his own thing for the time being.

Now it looks the producers going in the other direction.  MMA-fighter-turned-actress Gina Carano (Haywire) is now in talks to bring some badass estrogen into the manifold.  Fan-fucking-tastic!  If she signs the dotted line, she’ll be joining Agent Hobbs’ team in taking down Toretto and O’Connor .  Stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and Dwayne Johnson are already on board.  One can only assume that series regulars Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Elsa Pataky, Gal Gadot, Tego Calderon, Don Omar, Eva Mendes, and Michelle Rodriguez will shortly follow suit.

Considering the fact that Johnson vs. Diesel: Part Deux is a foregone conclusion, it looks like the next entry might be a painful one for Walker with Carano in the mix.  Or perhaps it is Rodriguez that will be getting a boot to the face?  Fast Six (which still has no official title) shoots later this year once Diesel finishes his work on the new Riddick film.  Justin Lin is once again directing from a script by Chris Morgan, just like the past three installments.  While Fast Seven was written alongside the new one, they will no longer be filmed back-to-back.  No specific reason has been given for the change in plans, but I suspect it has something to do with the fact that Lin is still attached to Terminator 5.

Haywire was an excellent action debut for Carano and I’m glad to see that she will be continuing her new career path with Fast Six and the project she has lined up afterwards, John Stockwell’s In The Blood.  Keep it up, lady!  The more new action stars, the better!

 

Source | THR

* – Statham has both Expendables II and Parker in post, is gearing up to film Hummingbird, and is set to shoot Brian De Palma’s adaptation of William Goldman’s Heat late this year or early next.  Busy, busy, busy!  That said, maybe they can coax him into appearing in Fast Seven when the time comes?