After nearly two months of speculation, actress Charlize Theron has officially joined the cast of Universal's Fast & Furious 8. Variety reports that the actress is expected to play a villain, which falls in line with the first report that surfaced in early February, but no details about this character have been released. Production is expected to begin soon, with shooting scheduled to take place in New York, Atlanta, Cuba, Iceland and Russia.

Charlize Theron was initially approached in February, but since the script by Chris Morgan hadn't been completed yet, the Oscar-winning actress didn't want to commit to the project until the screenplay was done. Even after the script met with her approval, she still had some scheduling complications to work out, since she signed on to star in Sony's spy thriller entitled The Gray Man back in October. However, since the script was initially written for a male lead, rewrites were ordered, opening up a slot in Charlize Theron's schedule that allowed her to join Fast & Furious 8.

Fast & Furious franchise stars Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez and Ludacris are expected to return. This new report comes just one day after Game of Thrones star Kristofer Hivju joined the cast, reportedly playing the villain's primary henchman. No story details have been uncovered thus far, but the story will largely be set in New York City.

F. Gary Gray, who directed last year's box office sensation Straight Outta Compton, is taking the helm on Fast & Furious 8, working from a script by Chris Morgan. The writer is responsible for penning every movie in the series, except for the first two, 2001's The Fast and the Furious and 2003's 2 Fast 2 Furious. Universal has already set an April 14, 2017 release date for Fast & Furious 8.

Charlize Theron most recently starred in the Oscar-nominated blockbuster Mad Max: Fury Road and the thriller Dark Places. She will next reprise her role as Ravenna in Universal's sequel The Huntsman: Winter's War, which arrives in theaters April 22. She also lends her voice to LAIKA's Kubo and the Two Strings, set for release on August 19. What do you think about Charlize Theron portraying a villain in Fast & Furious 8?