Martial Arts Superstar Tony Jaa Joins 'Fast & Furious 7'

When it comes to action movies, martial arts in particular, who and what is hot comes in waves. The trend of the moment is the bone-breaking pencat silat style personified by Iko Uwais in The Raid: Redemption. And we've seen Uwais roll that sudden popularity into other roles, such as Keanu Reeves' Man of Tai Chi. But just a couple of years ago, the guy everybody was obsessed with was Tony Jaa, whose muay thai powered a number of modern day fighting classics, like Ong Bak and The Protector. He faded away for awhile (he left to become a monk at one point) but has been making a comeback, and now he's just signed on for his English-language debut where he'll get to throw down with Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson.

THR reports that Jaa has joined the increasingly awesome cast of Fast & Furious 7. His role is unclear at this point but he joins other new additions Jason Statham and MMA champ Ronda Rousey. Jaa had this to say about the signing...

Jaa: “I have been a big fan of the Fast and Furious franchise. The films are fast paced, fun and keep the audience involved. There is a great mix of humor and action, something I really appreciate. There is no better film to be involved in for a first U.S. studio production.”

If you thought Joe Taslim and Gina Carano brought an amazing physicality to Fast & Furious 6, wait until you get a load of Jaa. When asked about going toe-to-toe with the film's biggest heavy-hitters, Jaa said...

Jaa: "Having a chance to work with Vin Diesel and The Rock already makes me a winner."

So far we've been lucky enough to see all of the brawls fans have been clamoring for; Diesel vs. Johnson and Carano vs. Michelle Rodriguez. We also got Taslim making a mockery out of Tyrese Gibson and Sung Kang. Perhaps Jaa will get to embarrass Paul Walker, too?


James Wan is directing Fast & Furious 7, which will take the action back to Los Angeles, for release on July 11th 2014. Check out a little bit of what Jaa can do below.