NEW YORK - OCTOBER 13: Mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano attends the 30th Annual Salute To Women In Sports Awards at The Waldorf=Astoria on October 13, 2009 in New York City.
Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for the Women’s Sports FoundationHaywire star Gina Carano, the MMA athlete-turned-actress, is in negotiations to join the cast of Fast & Furious 6, the next installment in the billion-dollar franchise for Universal Pictures.
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Plot and character are being kept locked in the trunk of a 1970 Dodge Charger, but Paul Walker and Vin Diesel are set to return as rogue heroes Brian O’Conner and Dominic Toretto, respectively, while Dwayne Johnson is reprising his role as Diplomatic Security Service Agent Luke Hobbs, out to capture the boys.
Carano will play a member of Johnson’s team.
For Fast 6, Justin Lin is back as director for his fourth outing in the movie series, and Chris Morgan, who wrote the past three Fast films, is back on scripting duty. Neal H. Moritz and Diesel are returning as producers.
Launched in 2001, the Fast franchise is one of Universal’s hottest properties, with 2011’s Fast Five reinvigorating what was considered a long-in-the-tooth series. Fast Five gave Universal its biggest opening weekend in studio history and grossed more than $600 million worldwide.
Fast 6 is slated for release May 24, 2013.
Carano gained favorable notices for her acting debut with Haywire, which director Steven Soderbergh built around her. Carano went toe-to-toe in the film against such heavyweights as Michael Fassbender, Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor and Michael Douglas.
On the strength of that movie, Carano nabbed the lead in In the Blood, an action thriller to be directed by John Stockwell. Carano will shoot that film after she finishes Fast 6.
Carano is repped by Gersh, The Syndicate and Ziffren Brittenham.
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