Roundtree joins Speed Racer movie

Big thanks to our sister site Cinematical for news on the latest addition to the live-action Speed Racer flick. Richard Roundtree, Shaft himself, has joined the cast as Ben Burns, a former racer who now works as a commentator at the track.

The cast also includes Emile Hirsch as Speed, Matthew Fox as Racer X, Christina Ricci as Trixie, John Goodman as Pops, Susan Sarandon as Moms, Roger Allam as Royalton, and Scott Porter as Rex, Speed's brother who becomes Racer X (played by Matthew Fox, as mentioned).

The Wachowski brothers, the men behind the Matrix trilogy, have said they want Speed Racer to be a family movie, and apparently that's exactly what it will be with its G rating. Also, based on the design of the Mach 5, it would also appear they're trying to emulate the original cartoon series as much as possible.

The film hits theaters May 9, 2008.