True, Fast and Furious 8 is starting to gather steam. That's a no-brainer. With a most impressive showing of Furious 7, buoyed perhaps by a most heartbreaking exit on one of the franchise's most recognizable face, Paul Walker, it's certainly a bygone conclusion.
And since everything is still in the drawing boards, there's a strong possibility things could take a left turn when everybody expects it to take a right turn. Take casting. Rumor has it this time around women could lead the way. And that an all-female cast is cooking.
As reported rumor has it that Eva Mendes is to reprise her role as government Agent Monica Fuentes, a role she played last in Fast and Furious 6. With that factored in, that should put her side to side with Letty, the brave mechanic - one played by Michelle Rodriguez, love interest of Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto.
But many are pushing the envelope from just a two-leading ladies flick to total girl power in the form of an all-women cast for Fast and Furious 8. Which could be a huge U-turn for the franchise, given its largely macho roles for men as capitalized by Vin Diesel et al.
The idea seem worth exploring. Without a doubt, the million-dollar question is: Will it stick?
Michelle Rodriguez is quick to douse the fires though. In an interview about possible casting she's very much into a more amicable position between the two female characters.
'I think that first off, girls should stop fighting each other and we should start uniting for once. That's how I feel about that. Secondly, I think that everything is speculation until we actually shooting and we're immortalising stuff on film.'
Then the 36-year-old described as "one of the most iconic actresses in the action genre" capped it off about an exclusive female only Furious saying:
'I think it's cute but you do lose a lot of audience when you specialise like that. It's kind of like a black organisation or Latino organisation making content just for Latinos or blacks. It's stupid. You know what I mean?'
'If I were ever to do it, I think you have to be all encompassing. You have to think holistically and look for the broader audiences. And I don't like hating on guys to make women powerful. I think you can do both. Mad Max is proof of that.'
Wow, that action princess can sure talk. And it seems she's done a perfect job of shutting the all-female project down, before the idea get blown out of proportion.
As for those who are pining for some girl-to-girl loving between Rodrigues and the lovely Eva Mendes, no word has been said on that yet. At least nothing official. But from the looks of it, putting Vin Diesel right in the middle of the two feisty women should make the picture right. Or at least better.
With all things going as planned, 2017 should be the year the next Furious flick, Fast and Furious 8 comes to town.
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