Dominic Toretto and his team are requested by the Agency to steal a computer chip during its transit in Rome. Dom and his wife Letty Ortiz stay behind with his son Brian “Little B” Marcos, while the rest of the team travel to Rome. However, a wounded Cipher arrives at Dom’s home and informs him that Dante Reyes, the son of drug lord Hernan Reyes, has turned her crew against her and is using them to target Dom in revenge for his father’s death and the loss of his family’s fortune ten years prior. Little Nobody takes Cipher into custody but reveals to Dom and Letty that there is no Agency mission in Rome. Realizing that Dante set them up, Dom and Letty go to rescue the team. In Rome, Dante locks the team in a truck containing a bomb while Dom and Letty pursue them. The bomb is released through the streets, so Dom pushes it into the Tiber River to minimize the damage. Letty is arrested, and Agent Aimes, the Agency’s de facto leader since Mr. Nobody’s disappearance, believes that Dom and his team are responsible for the bombing and begins a manhunt, attaching a multi-million dollar bounty.
In Los Angeles, an armed team arrives to take Little B, who was under the care of Dom’s sister Mia. Dom’s brother Jakob defeats the team and takes Little B to a secret location in Portugal, where they will await Dom. Mr. Nobody’s daughter, Tess, is convinced of the team’s innocence and uses God’s Eye to find Dom in Naples, informing him that Dante is in Rio de Janeiro. Dom confronts Dante and agrees to a race, where they are joined by Dom’s friend Diogo and Isabel Neves, the sister of Little B’s late mother Elena. During the race, Dante tells Dom that he planted bombs in Diogo and Isabel’s cars. Unable to reach Diogo, Dom crashes into Isabel to dislodge the bomb as Diogo’s car explodes.
Tess visits Letty at a CIA black site and covertly wounds her to send her to the prison’s treatment center, where she meets Cipher. They discover the black site is in Antarctica and agree to work together to escape. In London, the rest of Dom’s team discover their bank accounts have been drained, so they use cash hidden by Roman Pearce to consult with Ramsey’s associate Bowie to acquire supplies. However, Bowie reports their arrival to law enforcement for the bounty, leading the team to turn to Deckard Shaw for help. Initially reluctant, Deckard agrees to help them after learning his mother Queenie is also a fugitive for helping Dom. Aimes tracks down and arrests Dom, but his team is ambushed by Dante’s mercenaries. Aimes joins forces with Dom to fight them, but Dante reveals that he has kidnapped Isabel. A sniper of Dante’s wounds Tess, while Dante steals the God’s Eye and locates Little B in Portugal. Dom manages to save Isabel as Dante escapes. Isabel promises Dom to get Tess to a hospital, while Aimes agrees to help Dom take Dante down. Dom’s team is also informed and travel to Portugal.
Meanwhile, Dante manages to kidnap Little B and orders his mercenaries to stop Dom and Jakob. Jakob sacrifices himself in an explosive crash, taking out all of the mercenaries and allowing Dom to rescue his son. Arriving at a nearby dam, Dante boxes them between two drone-operated semi-trailers and prepares to crush them, while Aimes is revealed to be a double agent working for Dante and shoots down the plane containing Dom’s team. Dom drives off the edge and down the slope of the dam, landing safely in the water, but Dante reveals the dam is rigged with explosives and sets them off. In Antarctica, Letty and Cipher escape the black site and trek to the coast, where a submarine surfaces and Gisele Yashar, who was presumed dead, emerges to rescue them.
In a mid-credit scene, Luke Hobbs and his agents storm a former police station owned by Dante, who calls to tell Hobbs that he is the next target for killing his father.
Development
In November 2014, Universal Pictures chairwoman Donna Langley said there would be at least three more films in the franchise after Furious 7 (2015). In April 2017, producer Neal H. Moritz stated that the tenth entry would serve as the finale for the franchise with Chris Morgan attached as screenwriter. In October 2017, Justin Lin entered negotiations to direct the ninth and tenth installments, after directing four films in the series. In February 2020, Vin Diesel hinted the film could be split in two, which he confirmed in an April 2021 press conference, stating, “There’s so much ground to cover and so many places in so many locations that we have to visit” as the rationale behind the decision for a two-part finale. Prior to production, Diesel announced filming would take place in Italy, stating, “I was asked, ‘Would there ever be a Fast where you could film in Italy?’, and I [promised] we would”. While Morgan ultimately did not return as screenwriter, it was confirmed he would serve as an executive producer on the film, alongside Joseph M. Caracciolo, Jr., David Cain, Amanda Lewis, and Mark Bomback.
By April 2022, a new screenplay draft was written by Lin and Dan Mazeau. On June 5, 2022, Tyrese Gibson announced Fast X would see the franchise “going back to its roots”, with reports indicating this to be a return to street racing elements of previous entries, although shared details the film would also continue to explore the history of the Toretto family in a “similar” vein to F9; Leterrier later revealed the film focuses on increased familial responsibilities, saying, “Dom was always a lone wolf. He was living a quarter mile at a time [but] the stakes are real now. [He is] responsible for a human being, an innocent life [he] brought into the world”. Gibson also expressed a desire for the franchise to film in South Africa, stating, “me and Luda always had this idea [that] it’s time for us to head to South Africa. It needs real estate in this franchise [because] it [has] a beautiful skyline with ocean. It’s the Fast and Furious package”. Ludacris later stated his favorite franchise filming location was his home city of Atlanta, Georgia, and revealed that he did not anticipate returning to the franchise after his initial appearance in 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003). During an August 2022 interview with ComicBook, Nathalie Emmanuel said “the stakes are higher on a more personal level in this [film]”, indicating a more grounded approach compared to previous installments. In developing the character of Dante, Leterrier revealed they wanted to forge the “anti-Dom”, saying, “[Dante] is the yang of [Dom’s] yin, the antichrist of his Christ” and wanted to give Dante clear motivation with Dom’s role in Dante’s origin story, noting, “There are strong ties with [Dante and Dom] and that is what makes an amazing villain because you understand why they became this and [their motivations]”. Leterrier noted Larson’s character as also being influenced by “the generational legacy of the characters”, saying, “Everybody [in the franchise] has a different point of view on Dom and his own influence on their lives. And that’s how she [fits in]”.
Describing the film’s retcon of Fast Five (2011), Leterrier said it was to “explore the price of justice”, noting, “[We] Rashomon’ed [the fifth film] to experience it through the eyes of Reyes, with Dom and Brian the thieves. We [wanted to] guide the audience to rethink everything they’ve experienced in the franchise [because] a good antagonist has their own truth, [separate] from the protagonists”. Leterrier noted the film touches on each previous installment, saying, “The snowball [of Dom’s actions] has picked up speed and became an avalanche”, and said his favorite film in the franchise is Fast Five. These quotes are somewhat false and are incredibly re-worded from the Entertainment Weekly article, who did this? Leterrier later revealed he performed several uncredited rewrites to the entire screenplay on his initial travel to the set, stating he lacked sleep for the first four days he worked on the film. During the film’s early promotional run, Leterrier said Fast X explores the potential breakup of family, noting “people are going to need to take sides [and] alliances will need to be made” compounded by “[the] war brewing” between the characters, saying “there will be some tremendous casualties”. He later confirmed the film will end on a cliffhanger, and further hinted at character deaths, saying, “The beauty of the end of this franchise [is] understanding these characters will [not] live forever. Only in Westerns do cowboys gallop out into the sunset. This is different; the stakes even more than they’ve been before”. This was seemingly confirmed by Michelle Rodriguez, who considered the fan reaction to the ending, saying, “You’re going to feel so cheated in a way, but then so gratified and excited about what’s to come. After 23 years of [making films], it’s really tough at this stage to shock me, and they got me good”. She reiterated this in a promotional interview with Collider for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023), saying the ending of Fast X would “[leave] people really surprised and we’re [going to] get open mouths at the end. In [the] theater, I was like, ‘Oh my god. What have we done?!'”.
In an interview with Collider, Universal Pictures producer Kelly McCormick stated the impact of COVID-19 and the production schedules of “our interfering projects” (like Fast X and its sequel) caused delays in developing the sequel to Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019). Filming in Turin required the Film Commission Torino Piemonte, local authorities, and city councillors to conduct a five month planning schedule from September 2021 and January 2022, collaborating with the Departments of Culture to co-ordinate the city’s major events, roads and transport, public, and security around filming requirements. Such planning included managing the overflight of drones and limitations on circulation made necessary for the management and safety of the set.
- Vin Diesel as Dominic “Dom” Toretto:
A former criminal and professional street racer who has retired and settled down with his wife, Letty Ortiz, and his son, Brian Marcos. In an interview, director Louis Leterrier described Fast X as exploring the fallout of Dom’s actions in previous installments, saying “[Dom] has fought so hard to keep faith and protect family [but] there is a price to pay. His enemies are coming after him”.
- Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz: Dom’s wife and a former criminal and professional street racer.
- Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce: An ex-habitual offender, expert street racer, and a member of Dom’s team.
- Ludacris as Tej Parker: A tech expert, mechanic, and a member of Dom’s team.
- John Cena as Jakob Toretto: The brother of Dom and Mia and a master thief, assassin, and high-performance driver who once worked as an agent for Mr. Nobody.
- Nathalie Emmanuel as Ramsey: A computer hacktivist and a member of Dom’s team. Emmanuel said her character sees increased involvement in Fast X compared to the previous films.
- Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto: The sister of Dom and Jakob and a member of Dom’s team who has settled down with her partner, Brian O’Conner, and their two children.
- Sung Kang as Han Lue: An expert drifter and member of Dom’s team who previously faked his death in order to work on a covert operation for Mr. Nobody.
- Scott Eastwood as Little Nobody: A government law enforcement agent who worked under Mr. Nobody.
- Daniela Melchior as Isabel Neves: A Brazilian street racer who is revealed to be the sister of Dom’s former girlfriend and Little B’s mother Elena Neves.
- Alan Ritchson as Aimes: The new leader of Mr. Nobody’s agency who is working with Dante. Ritchson felt confident at taking the role due to feeling that the most difficult step on his career came when he agreed to star in Reacher (2022-present) when that role had been played by Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher (2012). In one early version of the screenplay, Aimes and Dante were brothers, but Ritchson was asked to film a scene with that plot twist along with the one used in the final cut that reveals Aimes as having been in cahoots with Dante all along, unaware of which version would be ultimately used but still playing the role in the same way as he felt that Aimes wouldn’t care on whether he’s evil or not as long as his methods made him felt like he was a good guy. According to Ritchson, Aimes was a creation from producer/former director Justin Lin.
- Helen Mirren as Magdalene “Queenie” Ellmanson-Shaw: The leader of a female militia and an ally of Dom as well as the mother of his former enemies Deckard and Owen. Mirren drew inspiration for the character from her aunt (also nicknamed Queenie) and from her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen (2006).
- Brie Larson as Tess:
The daughter of Mr. Nobody and a rogue representative of his agency who allies with Dom and his crew. According to Diesel, Larson drew inspiration from his daughter, Pauline, for the character.
- Rita Moreno as Abuelita Toretto: The grandmother of Dom, Jakob, and Mia.
- Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw:
A former opponent of Dom and his team, who became an ally and new member after saving his son. Deckard’s younger brother, Owen, was hospitalized working for Cipher.
- Jason Momoa as Dante Reyes:
The son of drug lord Hernan Reyes, seeking revenge against Dom and his crew for the death of his father and loss of his family’s fortune during the events of Fast Five (2011). Momoa described the character as Dom’s foil, saying Dante is “very sadistic and androgynous and he’s a bit of a peacock… He’s got a lot of issues, this guy. He’s definitely got some daddy issues”. Momoa expressed a desire to play against type when portraying Dante, taking on a “less macho” character, and he performed his own stunts for the film.
- Charlize Theron as Cipher:
A criminal mastermind and cyberterrorist who is an enemy of Dom’s team. Leterrier described Cipher as the “devil” and speaking on her dynamic with Dante, Leterrier said, “They are bad news, but one is more afraid than the other. One is worse news than the other”.
- Joaquim de Almeida as Hernan Reyes: A ruthless drug lord and Dante’s father, who was killed by Luke Hobbs at the end of Fast Five. de Almeida was digitally de-aged to match his appearance in Fast Five for the flashback sequences including his character that take place during the events of that film.
- Leo Abelo Perry as Brian “Little B” Marcos: Dom’s son. Perry replaces twins Isaac & Immanuel Holdane from F9 (2021).
Luis Da Silva reprises his role from Fast Five as Diogo, a Brazilian street racer who allies with Dom and his crew, while appearing through archive footage from that film are Michael Irby as Hernan Reyes’ right-hand man Zizi and late series star Paul Walker as Brian O’Conner. Making cameo appearances are Ludmilla as a race starter in Rio de Janeiro, Pete Davidson as Bowie, a friend of Ramsey, Walker’s daughter Meadow as a flight attendant helping Jakob, and Debby Ryan and Josh Dun (credited as themselves) as a couple in an airport.
Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson reprise their roles from the franchise as Gisele Yashar and Luke Hobbs during the final scene and mid-credits scene, respectively. The French journalist Ali Baddou appears during the news flashes of the film. Eva Mendes appears as Monica Fuentes through archive footage from 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003).
May 19, 2023
