‘The Raid’ Star Joe Taslim Takes Villain Role In ‘Fast & Furious 6′

Director Gareth Evans’ Indonesian action-thriller “The Raid” has only been in the pop culture atmosphere for barely year, yet that seems like enough time for Hollywood to start plucking the film’s top talent to work on their own projects. Evans has been working on his English language debut and is also set to be “Breaking The Bank” with a heist picture over at Universal, all after he finishes “The Raid” sequel “Berandal”. Meanwhile, main “The Raid” ass-kicker Iko Uwais has just nabbed a part in Keanu Reeves’ “Man Of Tai Chi.” Now, Universal is looking to tap another player in “The Raid” army, whose profile will certainly gain a significant upgrade.

Variety reports that big budget action maestro Justin Lin – the man behind the past three films in the “Fast and the Furious” franchise – has tasked Joe Taslim with whipping Paul Walker and Vin Diesel into shape in a villain role in the upcoming “Fast Six.” Taslim, who played the knife-wielding SWAT team Sergeant Jaka in “The Raid,” will play a fearless killer named Jah who uses a variety of techniques including martial arts and parkour skills to battle his opponents. While details are still scant on this one, we’re assuming he’ll be the henchman of sorts to already cast villain Luke Evans, who will attempt to thwart the ‘Fast’ crew’s attempt to take over a heist his people have been staking out for quite sometime. Bullets will fly, cars will presumably defy the laws of physics, and Taslim will probably have a cool fight scene or two. We’ll have to wait and see.

Taslim will be joining Diesel and Walker, along with Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez, Clara Paget and “Haywire” champ Gina Carrano. Lin is back in the driver’s seat (HA!) for this one, with Chris Morgan back on scripting duties for a film that’s set to race into theaters on May 24, 2013 aka Memorial Day weekend.

news source: blogs indiewire