The greatest achievement of the Fast and the Furious franchise isn't just the $1.5B they've grossed worldwide, it's that after five films it feels as fresh as when it started back in 2001. Part of the reason is director Justin Lin, who hasn't been afraid to tweak the premise a little to go beyond just flashy cars and girls in string bikinis. The other part was the addition of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a central character in this year's Fast Five, a jolt of energy to rival that of star Vin Diesel. The People's Champ helped make Fast Five the most sucessful film yet, and if the rumors are true, Lin may be looking to up the ante even more with another powerhouse addition.
Twitch reports that Universal has entered early talks with The Transporter star, Jason Statham, to join the franchise. The studio is considering the idea of filming the next two flicks back-to-back throughout 2012, and want Statham for one or both of the movies. His role is unclear, but I'm guessing he won't be a dainty ballerina or anything. It'll be interesting to see how he would tie in to the shocker conclusion of Fast Five.
No deal is in place, so count this as a rumor for now, but seriously he'd be a perfect fit. I'm imagining a huge battle royale between Diesel, Johnson, and Statham on the top of a semi or something.
Lin recently dropped out of directing the next Terminator film, as well as rebooting the Highlander franchise, due to scheduling issues. So maybe this back-to-back thing has some juice behind it.
