5 Actors Who Could Play The Villain in Fast & Furious 8

By now most people know that, at the end of the excellent Fast & Furious 6, Jason Statham is introduced as bad guy for the next film. This is fantastic instant attendance news for fans and I literally am already thinking of all the different ways Vin Diesel will make fun of Statham for being British, not valuing family, and for drinking Newkie Brown instead of Corona. But with The Rock getting introduced in Fast 5, Statham introduced in Fast 6, who will they introduce in Fast 7 to make Fast 8 a must-see film. There is no such thing as too much planning, and you'd be foolish to think The Fast Gods are not cooking this up you read this. And while I know these casting questions keep you up at night, I've chosen to help you our and hit you with a list of actors who I think would fit right into the best franchise on four wheels.

Liam Neeson
Who He Would Play: Uh, this one is a no brain  brainer, he would play the father of Statham and he would be seeking vengeance on the crew that killed his sons. His particular set of skills versus the set of skills of the Fast Gang. Yes please.
Why He Would Do It: Once considered a serious actor, he know almost exclusively appears in mindless action thrillers, where I'm sure he collects a sizable paycheck. And with the Fast & Furious franchise printing money still, there is no monetary reason they wouldn't pay him.

Mark Wahlberg
Who He Would Play - A maniac Boston cop who Paul Walker used to bust bad guys with. No Walker has no choice but to take him down... In recent years Wahlberg has proven himself to be an ass-kicker, but no role has exceeded his Officer Dignam from "The Departed." Picture that character...as a bad guy.
Why He Would Do It - With star turns in "Contraband," "Ted," and the upcoming "2 Guns" Wahlberg has become something of Universal's Go-To tough guy, so it would be easy to slot him to their top of the line action franchise. Besides he took the lead in the new "Transformers" so he clearly has no problem jumping into franchises at any point.

Eva Mendes
Who She'd Play: Even though she appeared in the tail end of "Fast Five" Mendes' cop character Monica Fuentes was nowhere to be seen in "Fast Six." I could see her coming back in some disgraced cop seeking vengeance against Hobbs role. It would tie the story together oh so nicely.
Why She'd Do It: What reason would she have to pass up a chance to be the main villain in this franchise? Seriously?

Halle Berry
Who She'd Play: Some type of international criminal who the gang have to take down. I've always wanted the franchise tackle more exotic locations (Southeast Asia, Africa, The Rings of Saturn) so with her exotic looks, I think she could fit right in.
Why She'd Do It: Berry's name recognition is pretty strong with audiences, yet her choices in movies have been weak at best. A big role in the franchise could revitalize her career and position as kind of the female Liam Neeson -  a slightly older ass kicker.

Martin Lawrence
Who He'd Play: A very dangerous and powerful LA drug kingpin with connections to everyone. Sooner or later the franchise is going to have to return home to the streets of LA and I could see Lawrence ripping it up as hilarious but totally evil bad guy. Besides you know any scenes he had with Tyrese & Ludacris would be hilarious, that duo has been bringing the laughs for the last three films!
Why He'd Do It: I like to think a chance to play a bad guy would interest him.

Honorable Mentions: There are many big time actors just jump into the ultimate summer popcorn franchise, but I doubt they'd do it. This list includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Denzel Washington, Daniel Day Lewis (yes seriously, pure intensity), Robert Downey Jr., Gary Oldman, and Alan Rickman all come to mind.

What About?: Ahh, I knew you'd ask. As much as I love them Arnold, Stallone, Van Damme, and even Willis are just too old/dated to fit into this franchise. Let's keep them locked into the Expendables purgatory.

Is This the Start Of The Summer Movie Season?

Is it finally here? Has the summer season arrived? The days of sitting through terrible winter films like "Push" and "Pink Panther 2" have been crushed by the impending summer movie behemoth? This week we have "Monsters Vs. Aliens" and the week after that we got "Fast and Furious," and then, and then, we have "Dragonball: Evolution?" Come on Hollywood, way to deflate the momentum. Jeah, I'm aware that the Hannah Montana movie opens the same week as Dragonball, and yeah I don't consider either of them a summer flick.

So I'm going to make this clear, don't be tricked by this glorious two week movie period.  The popcorn tubs are going to overflow until May, when "Wolverine" claws our faces up with his awesomeness (Snikt, Snikt).

Another indicator that summer movies have not truly arrived is the stinking laundry heap of a movie called "The Haunting in Connecticut." Why does it have to take place in Connecticut? Are there tax incentives to shoot there? Does Connecticut just happen to sound better in the audio mix? Something tells me "Tha Haunting in Maine" doesn't have the same ring to it. Then again, a movie about a haunting in Maine, complete with ghost lobsters and possessed lobsta men with thiaaacck maine accents could be a classic.

Elf: Think of the potential

Last year was the first time I saw "Elf." Yeah I know I was late to the holiday party, but, let me just say, if you haven't seen it yet, check it out. It's heart warming and pretty damn hilarious. It also contains pretty much the coolest snowball fight ever. Now it is possible that "Snow Day" had a snowball fight, but I would also say that it's possible that no one saw "Snow Day."

But back to the balls of snow, if this is the raw power that elves possess when it comes to snow combat, what the "H-E-Double Upside Down Candy Canes" are snowball fights at the north pole like? Rapid fire snowballs, constant ammunition, chilling (ZING!) accuracy, and never ending cheer. I'm not even going to go into the whole air support from the Reindeer thing, that alone is a whole other flick. I can see it now:

Red Nose
A Heart Warming Story of an Underdog who showed everyone the light.
Starring Paul Walker as Rudolph and Vin Diesel as Blitzen.