New Fast and the Furious races to meet fans' hopes

The Fate of the Furious features Dwayne Johnson. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The racing has also been moved onto an icy plain in the Barents Sea, joined by a submarine, and myriad remotely-controlled automobiles creating a scene of a "zombie car" attack in New York, which Gray says like "playing in a toy store".

The role of Cipher, the hi-tech savvy controlling the automobiles, is the first female villain in the franchise.

She is played by Academy Award-winning South African actress Charlize Theron.

Calling herself a fan of the franchise, Theron, 42, also shares her feelings with China Daily about playing someone "powerful and rapacious".

"Hopefully, I would never become somebody like that," she says.

"I'm fascinated (about playing the villain's role) because I always wonder about why serial killers kill people and can't stop. They are people like us, but for some reason, whether it is the nurture or the environment, they do things we can't even imagine. When you play a villain, that part of the storyline is very alive."

Nevertheless, not everyone enjoys playing the villain.

After his debut in Furious 7, British actor Jason Statham joins the franchise again.