Guardians of the Galaxy star Michael Rooker has joined Fast & Furious 9. In recent years the actor has enjoyed a renaissance that can be directly traced to his role as Daryl Dixon’s bad guy brother Merle on AMC’s The Walking Dead. After TWD brought him back to prominence, Rooker scored the biggest role of his life playing Star-Lord’s mentor Yondu Udonta in Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
As reported by Deadline, Rooker will now make the jump from the MCU to another multi-billion-dollar global franchise, taking on a role in Fast & Furious 9. A late addition to the cast, Rooker will reportedly play a character named Buddy in the action sequel. No further details have been revealed about the character.
Rooker joins WWE wrestler John Cena, MMA fighter Francis Ngannou and several more new faces for the upcoming ninth installment in the hit car-centric action franchise. Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren are set to return for the movie after making their franchise debuts in Fate of the Furious.
Little is known about Fast & Furious 9 at this time. A tenth film in the franchise is slated for release in 2021. That movie is seemingly set to be the final mainline film in the franchise, which has grossed over $5 billion worldwide.
Fast & Furious 9 will be helmed by Justin Lin, who directed the third, fourth, fifth and sixth entries in the Fast & Furious franchise. Fast & Furious 9 is slated for a May 22, 2020 release.
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