Eva Mendez will be reprising her role as DEA undercover agent Monica Fuentes in the eight installment of the hugely successful Fast & Furious franchise which is scheduled for release on April 14, 2017, said Christian Today.
Mendez first appeared on 2 Fast, 2 Furious as an undercover agent and the love interest of the late Paul Walker (Brian O'Conner). She also had a brief role in Fast 5 when she reported that Letty Ortiz was still alive.
In the next installment of the series, Mendez is rumored to create a love triangle involving herself, Dominic and the equally feisty Letty.
But if she could have her way, Rodriguez said she hopes that in the Fast & Furious 8, the women will not be at each other's throat and be united instead. She told the Metro in an interview, "I think that first off, girls should stop fighting each other and we should start uniting for once."
Other confirmed cast to be appearing on Fast & Furious 8 are Dwayne Johnson (Luke Hobbs), Kurt Russell (Mr. Nobody), Lucas Black (Sean Boswell), Ludacris (Tej), Michelle Rodriguez (Letty Ortiz), Tyrese Gibson (Roman), Vin Diesel (Dominic Toretto) and Jason Statham (Deckard Shaw).
To date, there are still no details about the plot of Fast & Furious 8 but Vin Diesel was earlier quoted as saying that he hopes the next Fast & Furious will take place in New York. There were also speculations that Fast & Furious 8 will be the first half of a two-episode finale of the blockbuster mega success series.
Meanwhile, Johnson has confirmed the producers of Fast & Furious are planning a spinoff involving his character as CIA agent Luke Hobbs, reported ScreenRant. Since his introduction into the franchise via Fast Five, The Rock's character was easily loved by fans and helped in doubling the box office success of its predecessor.
After the showing of Fast & Furious 7, Johnson said executives at Universal Studios are already discussing a possible spinoff movie that would focus on his character but the plan will only materialize after the 7th installment of the franchise. Fast & Furious 7 earned more than $1.5 billion worldwide, so a spinoff is very likely at this stage.
Johnson commented about the rumored spinoff, "We all are interested in it. I just had a big conversation with the studio. So we'll see. I still think for me personally we've created a little bit of space for him in 7 and the gauge is set for what the audience will want. That's my take on it, you know, but a lot of other people have to have input."
ScreenRant has also confirmed that Statham will be reprising his role as Deckard Shaw - the brother of the permanently-incapacitated Furious 6 villain Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) in the upcoming Fast & Furious 8.
Statham said about his return to Fast & Furious 8, "We're already talking about doing another one, Part 8. I'm a newcomer, I just got invited to the party in this last one, so it's nice to know I'm going to be doing another."
There are many rumors and many names being tossed around to be the new Paul Walker in Fast and Furious 8. One of them is Kurt Russell himself, which would change the central character to one that was young and up-and-coming to that of a veteran. It could be Dwayne Johnson. Then there is the possibility of Cody Walker, which would probably mean introducing him as the brother of Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker's character name in the Fast and Furious series).
Paul was tragically killed in car crash in 2013, before Furious 7 filming was completed. After a long period of inactivity, filming resumed with brothers Cody and Caleb agreeing to fill in as Paul in some scenes. The movie was completed in record time, and has went on to make $1.32 billion in global earnings .
Rather than killing off Paul Walker's character, Brian O'Connor, showrunners have decided to place him in happy retirement.
According to Enstarz, producers would be at a potential disadvantage to keep Cody as a fill-in for Paul Walker. The publication explained that fans would only "be reminded of the tremendous loss."
Meanwhile, Cody Walker expressed interest to participate in the eight Furious installment as a new character if given the chance.
