Charlize Theron Is Changing Things Up In 'F8'

The Fast and Furious franchise has spent over a decade throwing out epic twists and turns in its action-packed installments. In the upcoming film, hitting theaters April 14, the fast family will be put to the test when one of their own, Vin Diesel's character Dominic Toretto, turns on his team and goes rogue with some assistance from a villain played by Charlize Theron. Theron is bringing a powerful new energy to The Fate of the Furious as the franchise's first female antagonist, Cipher.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Theron opened up about her Fate of the Furious role. When talking about being the film series' first female villain, she appears thrilled. "Even though she's so evil, there's something kind of cool about her," she said. The actor continued,

"There's something great about witnessing a character coming in and taking what she wants. Dom is somebody who swore he would never break his code, and I think she loves the challenge of taking on somebody like that."

Powerful female characters are exactly what we need right now. And evil or not, nothing makes me happier than seeing a woman on screen taking charge. In Fast 8, Theron seduces Dom and ultimately convinces him to turn against Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and the rest of his family for a life of crime. The rest of the crew — Tej (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), and Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) — will also appear in the film, teaming up with Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw in order to help bring Cipher down for good.

This isn't the first time we've seen a member of the family turning their backs. Back in Fast & Furious 6, Letty was manipulated into turning on Dom and the crew while suffering from amnesia following an accident. But Cipher's the one doing the manipulating this time around, which makes Theron being cast as the franchise's first female villain so much more exciting.

Plus, it's a little refreshing to see a woman at the center of one of the series' biggest plot twists yet. Theron already sparked plenty of excitement since the trailer's big release, so here's hoping the eighth film lives up to the hype.