Production is officially underway on director Justin Lin’s sixth installment in the Fast & Furious franchise, currently referred to as Fast & Furious 6. Lin broke the news on his Twitter page last night:

“It’s 2am & just got up for the 1st day of FF6. Always love the calm & silence of the night b4 going on set. Let’s go shoot a f@#kin’ movie!”

Filming will take place in and around Europe, where the movie is set. The story reportedly revolves around dueling heist teams. Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez and Dwayne Johnson all return, joined by newcomers Gina Carano and Luke Evans. Hit the jump for more, including casting news concerning a villainous role.

Evans is set as the film’s primary villain, but Variety reports that The Raid star (and standout) Joe Taslim has joined the cast as the baddie Jah, “a cold-blooded killer who uses his martial arts and parkour skills to fight the pic’s protags.” Though I’m not the biggest fan of the franchise, I found Fast Five to be one of the most entertaining films of 2011. With the change of setting and character profile of Taslim’s role, it certainly sounds like Lin is changing things up yet again.

Five played more like a heist film than a car race-centered pic, and we had previously heard that Universal was hoping to reboot the genre of the franchise and make a series of heist movies. As long as the fun and spectacle of Fast Five remains, I’m game. Fast & Furious 6 is slated to open on May 24th, 2013.