Petrol heads and diehards of the franchise have been waiting for “Fast X” to release. And, going by the star-clout additions to the powerhouse regular cast, it has all the signs of cleaning up at the box office once again.
In the 10th instalment, Jason Mamoa is the antagonist as Dante Reyes, the son of drug lord Hernan Reyes. He has a beef with Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and the crew over them, costing his family their fortune back in “Fast Five”.
And he is there to make them pay.
According to Momoa, Dante is “very sadistic and androgynous and he's a bit of a peacock”. Aside from dialling back the character’s testosterone, Momoa says Dante’s daddy issues hold a lot of sway with him.
Diesel, who also wears the hat of producer, said: “You only attempt that when you know that you’ve earned the trust of your audience. This is a quarter of a century, and the time has come to finally deliver the finale.
“It’s a promise I personally made to my cast a decade ago, and it’s an incredibly enjoyable process.
“If there was ever a moment to be this daring, I believe we’ve earned it after all these years; but to truly tell a finale, we needed more than just the length of one film.”
As for how the Dom-Letty relationship has been taken forward, he said: “I remember when the first film came out. It was back when I used to read the reviews, and there was one article that said, as great as the movie was, the biggest crime was that there wasn’t enough of Dom and Letty.
“Well, little did I know that a quarter of a century later, we would still be playing these characters that represent the longest love story in cinema – which is something I’m very proud of.
“I was just with Michelle for the holidays, and someone was saying to us that we should be in Guinness World Records for having had the longest love story in Hollywood, which I thought was very funny.
“One of the things that’s made this franchise so special and relatable for people is that the relationships, on and off screen, are built out of love.
“As I got older, I have learnt about brotherhood and family, and a large part of that is because of the wonderful person that Michelle Rodriguez is.”
Every new offering has to leave the previous release in the dust. “Fast X” is no different.
On the new characters, Diesel said: “We’re excited to introduce new characters to the franchise. One of them is named Dante Reyes, played by Jason Momoa. And although you all know him, you will never forget the way that he portrays Dante.
“One of the things that we take pride in is allowing artists to explore their characters in unique ways, and the way that Jason Momoa portrays this character really plays nicely into the mythology.
“So, we’re very excited for you to be introduced to him. We needed somebody who, at face value, you regard as a worthy and formidable adversary.
“It is unnerving to portray a character that masks such palpable pain and thinks in a way that’s so scary. That’s a feat by Jason, and it’s what makes Dante so entertaining.”
The franchise has gone through many hot rides over the years. When asked if he had an affinity with any of the classic cars, Diesel said: “When I think of the Dodge Charger, I go back to that moment from the first film in the Toretto garage where Dom and Brian are talking heart-to-heart, and Dom is mentioning the relevance of this particular car in his life, as if it were a living, breathing entity – which is why we cast cars like other movies cast actors.
“When I think of that car, I think of the moment that I got a brother in real life: Paul Walker. Each car has a place in this mythology; but, for me, personally, the Dodge Charger always makes me think of my brother Paul. There’s just a special place in my heart for it.”
As for having Louis Leterrier in the director’s chair, he said: “On ‘Fast X’, we were lucky to find a soul out there in the universe that so perfectly fit into the mythology, like Louis.
“And one of the things that, as a producer, I love is how tirelessly he works and how much he wants to honour the franchise.
“That’s what you hope for when a new director comes on board. So, I’m very grateful to Louis Leterrier for directing the first part of ‘Fast X’.”
As the chapter draws to a close, an emotional Diesel said: “We all knew that day would eventually come. With every great story told throughout the history of time, the ending is sometimes the best part of it.
“And we knew that this saga would, ultimately, need to have its ending, but it was no easy task because so much has been created in this universe; so, to tie up all the storylines the last film would have to be broken up into multiple parts to pay homage to the myriad incredible talents that have been a part of our franchise.
“It’s always bittersweet to think about the end of a journey that’s meant so much to you and has been such an important part of your life.
“This film is the beginning of the end of the road. As you know, we make these movies with our hearts and our souls, and we are so grateful that you have always been there with us and always supported us and always believed in us. So, we just hope to make you proud.
“It’s been 23 years since we first started this saga, and we never could have imagined we’d be here today with our 10th film about to come out.”
By the way, look out for cameo appearances by Meadow Walker, Pete Davidson and Dwayne Johnson.
∎“Fast X” will be showing in cinemas nationwide from May 19.