Jason Statham Linked to ‘Fast 6’ and ‘Fast 7’

Fast Five is currently the fifth highest-grossing movie of 2011, making over $616 million, and is now out on DVD and Blu-ray. The series has been a major money maker for Universal Pictures and its stars and creators are already planning the sixth movie. Now, Twitch has reported two major rumors about the upcoming movie.

Jason Statham is rumored to have joined the cast. Statham is one of few major action stars around now, leading franchises such as The Transporter, Crank and The Expendables. He has also starred in the car-themed heist movie The Italian Job. Fans of the "Fast and Furious" series would certainly want to see the Englishman go head-to-head with either Vin Diesel or Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

The other major bit of news is that producer and director Justin Lin plans to film Fast 6 and Fast 7 back-to-back and do it in Europe. Filming back-to-back has become more popular in the last decade, with "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "The Matrix" sequels being the prime examples. It also explains in part why Lin left production on the next "Terminator" film.

Are you excited about the prospect of seeing The Stath in "The Fast and the Furious?" Let us know your thoughts.