Idris Elba To Be The Next Fast And Furious Villian

Back in 2001 if you had told me that The Fast And The Furious was going to eventually evolve into a franchise that’s 8 movies deep with two more sequels and a spin-off on the horizon, I would have thought you were crazy.

And yet, here we are…

Though, if we’re being honest with ourselves we know that the franchise really got a boost (no pun intended) when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson joined Vin Diesel’s “family”.

In fact, the masses reacted to Johnson’s “Hobbs” character so positively, that Universal is giving his character as well as Jason Statham’s “Shaw” character their own spinoff film.

It was also just reported today in Variety and later confirmed by The Rock himself on Twitter, that British actor and all around smooth dude Idris Elba has been cast to play the villain in the upcoming spin off film.

Elba is typically known for his good guy roles or romantic leads so I wouldn’t blame some of you who have a hard time seeing him play a villain. However, Elba’s turn as Sheer Khan the tiger in Jon Favreau’s Jungle Book shows that he can definitely play a compelling bad guy when he needs to.

Idris also happens to be a gearhead or “Petrolhead” as they say in the UK. He recently created a short film ode to cars as an art form as well as did a Discovery TV show “No Limits” that was all about Elba’s love of motorsports. So that possibly makes him an even better fit for the role.

I only say “possibly” because in a spin off film that won’t feature Vin Diesel, or his street racing “Family” I wonder how big of a role cars will actually have in this flick.

I know Fast And Furious films go bigger and bigger on the action but I really hope they don’t leave behind some of the elements that the franchises foundation was built on.

What do you think about Idris Elba joining the Fast And Furious franchise? Do you think cars will still play a role in the spin off? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or tweet to us at @MotorworldHype.

To see just how much Idris Elba loves cars, check out his short film below “What gives cars a soul?”

[Source: Variety]

[Photo: Beretta/Sims/REX/Shutterstock]