Guardians of the Galaxystar Michael Rooker is the latest star to join the Fast family, as he has boarded the cast ofFast & Furious 9. Filming is already well underway on the sequel. Cameras got rolling at the end of June, under the direction of Justin Lin, who returns to the franchise after taking a break from the last two installments. Now we have word that Rooker has signed on as something of a last-minute addition to the already impressive ensemble.
According to a new report,Michael Rookeris set to play a new character by the name of Buddy inFast & Furious 9. There is no word on who exactly Buddy will be aligned with, be it Dom’s crew, or if he might be an adversary. In any event, this is another big role for Rooker, who is best known for his role as Yondu in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as his role in the early seasons of AMC’sThe Walking Dead. Rooker is also signed on to play King Shark in James Gunn’sThe Suicide Squad, and he has a role in Blumhouse’sFantasy Islandmovie. Plus, the actor is set to star in Amazon’sThe Dark Towerseries. Needless to say, he’s a busy man who just added another big franchise to his roster.
The cast also includes franchise mainstays Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Ludacris andTyrese Gibson, who are all returning. Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren will also reprise their roles, with John Cena boarding the cast for this new installment. It was also recently revealed that UFC fighter Francis Ngannou will appear in the sequel. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jason Statham will sit this one out, as they both recently starred in the spin-offHobbs & Shaw, which hit theaters recently.
Plot details for the upcoming installment are virtually non-existent right now. The script was penned by series newcomer Dan Casey, who is working from a story cooked up by Justin Lin.Franchise mainstay Chris Morganended up turning his attention towardHobbs & Shaw, giving Casey the opportunity to bring a potentially fresh take to the main series as it enters its ninth installment. Lin previously directed The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast and Furious, Fast Five and Fast & Furious 6.
To date, the nine movies that make up the franchise have grossed an impressive $5.57 billion worldwide. The series has been on a major hot streak recently, as Furious 7 and The Fate of the Furious both grossed well over $1 billion worldwide, withHobbs & Shawwell on its way to $500 million globally since its launch earlier this month. That should allow for further spin-offs to be explored down the road, such as thefemale-led spin-off previously teased by Vin Diesel.Fast & Furious 9is set to arrive in theaters on August 25, 2025. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as any further details on the project are made available. This news comes to us viaDeadline.
