Helen Mirren’s Crucial Role In The Fate Of The Furious Has Finally Been Revealed

Charlize Theron isn’t the only Oscar-winning actress that the Toretto crew will have to contend with in The Fate of the Furious.

After expressing her surprisingly deep love for the series, Helen Mirren joined F. Gary Gray’s action sequel – formerly known as simply Fast 8 – in a mystery role last year and ever since, fans have been clamoring to find out exactly who she’ll be playing come April 14th. Well, wonder no more, as Yahoo! has confirmed that Mirren will portray the mother of Owen and Deckard Shaw, and is considered crucial in the plot.

Now that Vin Diesel’s musclebound Dominic Toretto has gone rogue, the remainder of Universal’s crew is forced to set aside old squabbles and partner with Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) if they’re to stand any chance of taking down Charlize Theron’s Cipher. That ought to ensure Mirren has plenty of screentime as matriarch to the Shaw brothers, but does the involvement of Mama Shaw signal a return for Luke Evans’ Owen? Last time we checked in on his character, a run-in with the Toretto gang had left him in a coma, which doesn’t necessarily rule out the possibility of a cameo appearance.

The Fate of the Furious is booked in for release on April 14th and will seemingly herald one final trilogy of wildly over-the-top movies at Universal. April 19th, 2019 and April 2nd, 2021 have both been earmarked for future installments, while there’s also chatter of character-driven spinoffs setting up shop at the studio.

“Now that Dom and Letty are on their honeymoon and Brian and Mia have retired from the game—and the rest of the crew has been exonerated—the globetrotting team has found a semblance of a normal life. But when a mysterious woman (Charlize Theron) seduces Dom into the world of crime he can’t seem to escape and a betrayal of those closest to him, they will face trials that will test them as never before. From the shores of Cuba and the streets of New York City to the icy plains of the arctic Barents Sea, our elite force will crisscross the globe to stop an anarchist from unleashing chaos on the world’s stage…and to bring home the man who made them a family.”