Whenever you are filming a movie that may or may not have the possibility of having Jason Statham in it, you better freakin' make sure you lock down Jason Statham for that movie. What I mean to say here is, a Statham-less film is nothing compared to one with the modern-day Chuck Norris (that's arguable, right?).
Statham delivered in Furious 7, so much so, that they want him back for the still-untitled Fast & Furious 8. The news here is good. Statham is on board for the eighth installment of what has turned into, pretty much, a superhero franchise at this point.
I mean, they've gone from car racing punks in L.A. to international crime fighters and espionage artists. They have developed impeccable hand-to-hand combat skills (all of them), they've driven faster cars, they've parachuted out of airplanes with those cars, and then they added Jason Statham - always a win.
I think, without Paul Walker as an obvious hook, keeping Statham on board is so incredibly important. Especially since his storyline hasn't been closed off yet. He's a great villain for the franchise that poses what I believe is a legitimate and scary threat. If Jason Statham wants you dead, you better be on your P's and Q's. That's all I'm really saying here.
One question, though... is Statham's character, Deckard Shaw, still alive? I mean, he got throughly messed up during the head-on collision with Dom and it was left unclear if he got out of there alive. Although, he's signed on for the new film, so I won't ask too many questions here. I want the thrill of the surprise.
