For the past decade, the Fast & Furious franchise has been collecting an impressive billing of its “Fast Family.” As the main franchise supposedly comes to an end with the upcoming two-part finale, there’s a lot of possibilities about who we might see. One fan-favorite we’re curious about is Helen Mirren, who has appeared as Magdalene “Queenie” Shaw in three movies so far, including spinoff Hobbs & Shaw. So will she be part of Fast X?
As Fast X began production this week, Helen Mirren was asked about if she is on the call sheet. Here was her response:
Oh I hope so! My goodness, yes, I do hope so. [laughs] I think you will, actually.
When Helen Mirren spoke to The Wrap, the actress showed some enthusiasm for returning to the Fast franchise. While she started by sharing her “hope” to play Queenie again, she then sounded a bit more definite after taking a moment to start to respond. Either she’s already on the cast, or perhaps she was reminded to give director Justin Lin a call about the upcoming blockbuster.
Mirren first joined the Fast & Furious franchise for 2017’s The Fate of the Furious. She plays the mother of Jason Statham, Luke Evans and Vanessa Kirby’s characters, Deckard, Owen and Hattie Shaw. The British actress then returned for the 2019 spinoff Hobbs & Shaw before recently reprising the role for last year’s F9 during a fun car ride sequence alongside Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto.
In F9, Queenie was fresh out of prison and back to a life of crime to steal an expensive necklace when Dom sought her out. As the main film series seeks to wrap up its over two-decade run with Fast X and one more movie, we expect just about the entire Fast Family to return. And hey, if Helen Mirren is up for it, put her in!
Fast X is expected to star the franchise’s regulars including Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel and Sung Kang. The movie will also feature new additions, with Aquaman’s Jason Momoa playing the bad guy, Captain Marvel’s Brie Larson having been welcomed and The Suicide Squad breakout star Daniela Melchior joining the cast. Momoa also seems to have spilled that Charlize Theron is back at it as Cipher as well.
Fast X is not hitting theaters until May 19, 2023. In the meantime, Helen Mirren is set to play a villain in DC’s Shazam! sequel, Fury of the Gods, this December. She’ll tag-team with Lucy Liu, who is also an antagonist in the superhero movie. Mirren will also star in White Bird prior to that this October, which is about a young Jewish girl who is hidden away by a boy and his family in France during World War II. We’ll keep you updated here on CinemaBlend on these projects.