‘Fast & Furious 8’ Release Date: Jason Statham, Eva Mendez Reprise Their Roles

The "Fast and Furious" franchise will once again grace the screen for its eighth installment which will feature British actor Jason Statham, who played antihero in the film. He made such an effective antagonist that he will be back. The successful franchise has earned a total of more than $1.5 billion worldwide according to Blasting News.

The 7th movie featured Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O'Conner (played mostly by Paul Walker to whom the film was a tribute) and the rest of the gang as they go back to the United States to start over after receiving an amnesty for their past transgressions as portrayed in the 6th film. But their new lives will not necessarily lead to a happily ever after, as a rogue special forces assassin Deckard Shaw (Statham) tried avenging his younger brother, Owen Shaw.

Shaw had liquidated Han, a member of Toretto's team in Tokyo, then blows up the gang's house in the U.S. The film continued with the same intense level of action and car chases and while Shaw evaded capture for the most part, he ended up being taken into custody by Hobbs and locked away in a high-security prison.

The ending with Shaw incarcerated in a top secret facility opened the possibility of a comeback, and the actor himself confirmed this. The Master Herald reported that Statham has signed up to reprise his role, and said that he was just a newcomer that got invited to the party. He said it was nice to know that he is going to be a part of the successful movie franchise again.

Other than Statham, the Gospel Herald Entertainment said that Eva Mendez will also reprise her role as Monica Fuentes, a DEA undercover agent. She first appeared on "2 Fast, 2 Furious" as the love interest of the late Paul Walker and she had a brief role in Fast 5.

Other confirmed cast of "Fast & Furious 8" are Dwayne Johnson (Luke Hobbs), Kurt Russell (Mr. Nobody), Lucas Black (Sean Boswell), Ludacris (Tej), Michelle Rodriguez (Letty Ortiz), Tyrese Gibson (Roman), and Vin Diesel (Dominic Toretto).

"Fast & Furious 8" is set to careen on the big screen on April 2017.

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