‘Fast & Furious 7’ Adds Djimon Hounsou; ‘Glee’s Melissa Benoist Gets ‘Whiplash’; Liana Liberato Joins ‘If I Stay’

Djimon Hounsou is adding his muscle to Universal‘s Fast & Furious 7, the studio announced today. He’ll join franchise veterans Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson and Tyrese, along with new baddie Jason Statham. The sequel helmed by James Wan is due to hit theaters July 11. Hounsou is repped by CAA, manager Peter Safran and Sloane, Offer, Weber and Dern.

Glee‘s Melissa Benoist has been cast in Whiplash, adapted from writer-director Damien Chazelle’s Sundance-winning short film. J.K. Simmons plays a brutal jazz teacher who unloads his frustrations on a novice drummer (Miles Teller) who begins to lose his humanity in his quest to play with the country’s top jazz orchestra. Benoist just finished filming Imagine with Al Pacino and Annette Benning. She’s repped by UTA, Authentic Talent & Literary Management and Frankfurt Kurnit.

Liana Liberato will play Chloe Moretz’s best friend, a sarcastic book nerd, in If I Stay. R.J. Cutler’s film is based on Gayle Forman’s YA novel about a comatose teenager who has an out-of-body experience in the hospital and must choose between living a difficult life or giving up. Liberato, whose credits include Trust and Stuck In Love, is repped by Management 360 and CAA.