With production gearing up for the ninth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise, one Fast family member may not be returning as Michelle Rodriguez revealed she has yet to sign on for the project.
While Michelle Rodriguez has been very vocal about how grateful she is to have been to be a part of The Fast and The Furious franchise since its debut in 2001, she has also been very forward regarding her issues with the onscreen imbalance between male and female characters in the high-octane action films, to the point of even considering her departure altogether.
With the franchise now expanding with not only Hobbs & Shaw later this year, but a possible female-led spin-off which Nicole Perlman, Lindsey Beer, and Geneva Robertson-Dworet were recently revealed to be developing, it seems like all the gears are in motion to continue to build out the franchise in more diverse and exciting ways. Except one staple of the franchise may not be returning as Michelle Rodriguez revealed to Vanity Fair that she isn’t sure whether or not she’ll be reprising her role as Letty Ortiz in Fast and Furious 9 which is set to begin filming soon for an April 2020 release:
“I don’t know if I’m coming back. I have to read the script first. Once I read the script, I’ll know. When I read the script—and I hope that it’s inclusive—then I’ll agree to come back or not. My energy is completely directed toward the feminine right now and supporting women. I’ve spent most of my life shooting guns, and hanging out with the boys, and watching them scratch their balls, and smelling protein-mixed farts. And now I’m feeling the poetry and the beauty and the sensuality of women, and the power we bring together. So they need to show more love to the women. I don’t know which direction it’s going to go. But I know that I’m headed in that direction. We’ll see if that all matches.”
The Fast franchise has been well known for featuring a diverse cast for many years, however, the series has been light on female characters compared to the number of male co-stars since Fast and Furious 6. Furious 7 only featured 2-female leads opposed to the seven male leads. The eighth film, The Fate of the Furious slightly improved on this number as it introduced Charlize Theron as the anarchist Cipher and Helen Mirren as the mother of the Shaw brothers. Hobbs & Shaw will feature the introduction of both Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible – Fallout) and Eiza Gonzalez (Baby Driver) into the franchise.
Hobbs & Shaw is being directed by David Leitch (Deadpool 2) from a script written by franchise veteran Chris Morgan. Original Film’s Neal H. Moritz and Seven Bucks Productions’ Hiram Garcia are producing the film. Here’s the official synopsis:
“A spinoff of The Fate of the Furious, focusing on Johnson’s US Diplomatic Security Agent Luke Hobbs forming an unlikely alliance with Statham’s Deckard Shaw.”
The film stars Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Vanessa Kirby, Eddie Marsan, Eiza Gonzalez, and Idris Elba.
Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw will hit theaters August 2, 2019. Stay tuned to Heroic Hollywood for the latest news on Hobbs and Shaw, as well as the future of the Fast and Furious franchise as we learn it.
Source: Vanity Fair