Tony Jaa joins the FAST AND FURIOUS 7

If I mention the name Tony Jaa, most of you will probably know who that is. He’s the guy that managed to bring Street Fighter ultimate combos to the big screen, and make them even more badass by insisting that everything be filmed while he’s either on fire or downright crazy. Usually, this was a case of both.

The thing is though, Jaa has never been in a big Hollywood film production. Yet despite that, he’s garnered a cult following. So after a decade of angrily asking just where the hell his elephant is, Jaa will be kicking it up on the American big screen in the next Fast and Furious film. Presumably, these will be the names of his legs in the movie.

The Hollywood Reporter got the scoop on this, and received the following email from Jaa about his casting that was most likely typed out by him doing stand flip-kicks onto each letter on the keyboard until it formed a coherent sentence:

I have been a big fan of the Fast and Furious franchise. The films are fast paced, fun and keep the audience involved. There is a great mix of humor and action, something I really appreciate. There is no better film to be involved in for a first U.S. studio production.

Production starts soon on the seventh film, which once again stars Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham and the longest runway in the world I’m guessing. Justin Lin ushered in a new age for Fast and Furious films, taking them from the cringe-worthy days of 2 Fast 2 Furious and crafting a tale that saw Vin Diesel return in an orgy of car porn. It’s going to be interesting to see how Jaa fits into this world, as right now his car chase expertise is limited to outrunning all the tuk tuks in Thailand in a sequence that had stunt men driving at tens of kilometers.

The Fast and the Furious will be drifting into cinemas in July 11, 2014.

Last Updated: August 26, 2013