Helen Mirren Agrees With Vin Diesel: It’s Time For Michael Caine To Join The ‘Fast And Furious’ Series
We can all agree thatMichael Cainemakes any movie he’s in at least 25% better just by his mere presence, right? He’s just that kind of performer. Whether he’s playing a good guy or a bad guy, if he’s onscreen your eyes are going to be on him.
Naturally, that makes him a very sought after actor and it looks like there are plans underway to get him into theFast and Furiousfranchise.
DameHelen Mirrenrecently revealed to theNew York TimesthatVin Dieselfloated the idea of Caine showing up in a futureFast and Furiousflick as Queenie Shaw’s ex-husband. Should this come to pass, Caine would be playing the Elder Shaw, father figure toJason Statham’s Deckard Shaw andVanessa Kirby’s Hattie Shaw.
To be perfectly clear, this item is firmly in “Wouldn’t it be cool if…” territory. We don’t even know if Caine has even been approached, but it is still a rather intriguing idea, not just because Caine is an always dependable “Never Bad” (ie someone who brings the thunder no matter what the movie is, be itChildren of MenorJaws: The Revenge) but because of the particular baggage he brings with him to this particular character.
What Might It Be Like to See Michael Caine in Fast and Furious?
Caine has a history of playing hard-ass Brits in stuff likeGet Carterand his Bond-ishHarry Palmerfilms, so he’s easy to see as Statham and Kirby’s pops. It’s also worth mentioning that decades before theFast and Furiousfilms evolved into high octane heist adventures Michael Caine was there using Mini-Coopers to evade the police in The Italian Job.
It’s hard to nail down exactly what theFast and the Furiousfilms are because the series has evolved so radically since itsPoint Break-ish street racing origins, but there is zero doubt that Caine’s 1969The Italian Jobis a big influence on the films, especially in the fun dynamic between the folks behind the wheel. The team inThe Italian Jobmight not be family, but I could definitely see them sitting back and enjoying a pint at a backyard BBQ.
In that NYT interview, Mirren sounded absolutely delighted at the prospect of Caine joining up with theFast and the Furiousteam, and for good reason. She knows what he brings to every project he does and it just kinda feels right for him to show up in this series, doesn’t it?
If the fun casting idea being floated by Mirren and Diesel does become a reality, we can be assured of at least one thing: he would absolutely blow the bloody doors off.
