MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ - RODRIGUEZ TO JOIN ORIGINAL CAST FOR FAST AND THE FURIOUS 4

It has been confirmed that Lost star Michelle Rodriguez will appear in Fast and the Furious 4.

Rodriguez will join other original cast members from the first Fast and Furious film, released in 2001.

Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster are all due to appear in the fourth instalment of the franchise.

The reported theme for the film will follow a similar path as the other movies, with Walker's character infiltrating a drug gang, where he is joined by Diesel, with large amounts of high-powered cars street racing inevitably ensuing.

Justin Lee, who directed the third film, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, is set to direct and the script is to be written by Chris Morgan, who also worked on Tokyo Drift.

2 Fast 2 Furious, the second film in the series was released in 2003 with Paul Walker, but without Diesel or Rodriguez.

The third instalment, released in 2006, moved the story to Tokyo and starred Lucas Black.

Fast and the Furious 4 is scheduled for release next summer.