Looks like Dominic Toretto and his racing crew are officially headed to Cuba for Fast 8.
It’s been decades since a Hollywood studio shot on the island, but as U.S. relations with Cuba warm, Hollywood has begun to dip its toes in again and test the possibilities. Conan O’Brien journeyed there in March to make Conan the first late-night show to shoot on the island post-embargo.
In 2014, Bob Yari’s Papa: Hemingway in Cuba became the first Hollywood indie to do the same. And now, another milestone arrives as tweets confirm that Fast 8 will be the first Hollywood studio movie to film on the island post-embargo. On Wednesday night, the Fast and Furious Twitter account shared a warm welcome from some of the latest installment’s local extras.
So, does this make Vin Diesel the American studio-film industry’s ambassador to Cuba? Is he ready for that kind of responsibility? From the looks of things, he’s chill as ever. And given how things are going, why shouldn’t he be? In addition to the film’s historic achievement, the movie will bring Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray into the mix.
On top of his recent critically and commercially successful biopic, Gray also directed 2003’s The Italian Job, which, on top of its awesome Mini Cooper chase scene, also starred Charlize Theron, who will also be starring in Fast 8. Following her recent turn as an action hero in Mad Max: Fury Road, Theron might be the most exciting element of the whole project—especially as she’s slated to play the villain.
In addition to Theron, Scott Eastwood will be the other new-coming actor to join all the returning alums when the movie comes out on April 14, 2017: Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, and Kurt Russell are all coming back. In an Instagram post, Diesel himself gave a hint about what’s to come in the new installment, saying, “We’re in Cuba, where the Torettos started. … It’s Dom Toretto, back in his homeland.” Welcome home, Toretto.
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