Fast X: Michelle Rodriguez And Charlize Theron Filmed Fight Scene Without Director
After nine movies that have pushed the action envelope further and further, it is hard to imagine that the people behind "Fast X" have found a way to do anything new and different. But according to franchise veteran Michelle Rodriguez, she and fellow returning star Charlize Theron did just that. After director Justin Lin exited the project, there was some time between his departure and his replacement's arrival that the two actors decided not to waste.
In an interview with Variety, she revealed the two took it upon themselves to do a fight scene on their own. "Can I just tell you — no pun intended, but Charlize is a monster," Rodriguez said. "We shot our fight sequence with no director. Bro, like, hands down, drop mic, we nailed it. We were there; we don't need [a director]; let's do this."
Neither of these actresses is unfamiliar with action sets, as Rodriguez has been filming this series since the beginning and has seen her character do a dozen fight scenes. Theron, meanwhile, established herself as a bona fide action star with "Atomic Blonde," "Mad Max: Fury Road," and "The Old Guard." Still, doing a crucial scene where two important characters face off could be a bit of a risk — and it very well could have been scrapped.
They could have ended up doing the scene for nothing
According to Variety, there was about a week between Justin Lin's departure and new director Louis Leterrier arriving on set. But that was enough time to rework the entire script, according to Leterrier. The new director told Esquire Middle East that he ended up rewriting the whole screenplay on no sleep.
"I read the script four times on the plane, and I said I had some ideas, and they said, 'Great because the whole third act is changing. Can you rewrite it tonight?'" the director revealed. "I was literally on no sleep. I'd been on no sleep for days." He added that since changing the third act necessitated altering the first act, then the second act had to be thrown out and redone as well.
That means that by the time the replacement director arrived on set and called action, the entire script had changed. In that time, while Michelle Rodriguez and Charlize Theron were filming their fight scene, the new director could have scrapped the whole thing, and it would have all been for nothing. Lucky for us, it sounds like we're in for a knockdown, drag-out grudge match between the two action legends.