‘The Fate Of The Furious’: Director F. Gary Gray & Vin Diesel On Dom’s Dark Path

Vin Diesel Fast and Furious 10

Earlier today a new trailer for The Fate of the Furious was released and while it offered plenty of new footage, it still left many fans wondering why lead hero Dominic Toretto has betrayed his family and sided with a new villain named Cipher, played by Charlize Theron. In interviews with Entertainment Weekly, director F. Gary Gray and star Vin Diesel discussed the dark new direction for Dom and the franchise as a whole.

Vin Diesel discussed the difficulty but necessity of taking Dom down a dark path in The Fate of the Furious.

“We have been talking the talk. Now it was time to walk the walk. Of course I was worried about going down such a dark road… but in some ways, there was little reason to continue if we weren’t going to challenge our characters and the fans’ faith in our saga.”

The Fate of the Furious star discussed his new approach to character now that Dom is heading in a dangerous direction.

“Very different. I knew that I was going to have to go to a dark place, part of the reason I returned to Xander [in XXX: The Return of Xander Cage] beforehand, to laugh a little onscreen before returning to Dom. It was an intense experience, to say the least. I only hope that the audience enjoys the journey despite the dark road ahead.”

The Fate of the Furious director F. Gary Gray discussed how the decision to turn Dom against his allies was necessary to send the franchise in a new direction.

“It’s definitely a transformative moment for the franchise. It’s very surprising. I was very, very conscious of: ‘Why would you go see the eighth installment in a franchise?’ You have to give them something new, not a trivial, arbitrary storyline. Dom going rogue, going against the family, I thought that was an amazing idea, and I wanted to be responsible for that.”

Gray commented on the challenges the cast faced when playing enemies to co-stars who have become close friends

“It’s just a different storyline. I don’t think the cast found it easy to play against Dom, you know? It’s normally a family affair, and you have a lot of [actors] who are genuinely friends, who spend time with each other off-campus. To have to deliver performances that go against their every nature, that was quite a challenge.”

The latest trailer for The Fate of the Furious featured a moment where Dom explains that he has no choice but to turn against his allies, offering fans of the series hope that their longtime hero is not beyond redemption. Do you think Dom has been forced to betray his family or has he truly turned his back on them forever? Share your thoughts below!

The Fate of the Furious will be released in theaters on April 14, 2017.

Source: Entertainment Weekly [1,2]

Sebastian Peris

Sebastian Peris

Canadian film buff, political junkie, comic book geek, and board game enthusiast.