The Wachowski Brothers’ upcoming Speed Racer has been quite literally given the Shaft. Not the drive shaft, not the cam shaft, no we’re talking the original private dick who’s a sex machine to all the chicks.
Richard Roundtree, he of the classic Blaxploitation flick and recipient of the best wah-wah-fuelled theme tune ever, has joined the cast of The Matrix creators’ live-action adaptation of the poorly-dubbed, statically-animated but surprisingly still adored 60’s cult anime cartoon.
Centring on the adventures of Speed and his road-burnin’, gadget-laden super-motor, the Mach 5, and their quest for trophy glory, the film is currently shooting in Berlin and is set to be released next August.
Joining the likes of Lost’s Matthew Fox, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon and John Goodman, Roundtree is set to play Ben Burns, a racer-turned-commentator and personal hero to the young racing driver protagonist made flesh by Alpha Dog’s Emile Hirsch.
It’s been a long while since Roundtree has made much of an impact on the big screen - that’s including the fun cameo he made in Samuel L Jackson’s Shaft remake in 2000 - but he has been plugging away on the tellybox with appearances on Grey’s Anatomy and a recurring role as might-be-dead guy Charles Deveaux in Heroes, while paying the bills with a host of straight-to-DVD clunkers and TV movies.
We reckon the cat who won’t cop out when there’s danger all about is gonna make the most of this big-budget opportunity.