Biggest Unanswered Questions In Fast X
The newest chapter in the "Fast" saga has arrived with "Fast X" and it sees the franchise's main crew go on another globe-trotting adventure to face a vicious new threat. Although things are seemingly much more peaceful for Dom (Vin Diesel) and his crew, they suddenly become targeted by a mysterious man named Dante (Jason Momoa), who is seeking revenge against Dom for past wrongs. With Dante going to destructive and devastating lengths to destroy Dom and the family that he's built, the crew has to rely on old friends and enemies to escape Dante's wrath before he wipes them all out.
This film is the start of an epic finale for the "Fast" franchise — at first, "Fast X" was believed to be the first entry in a two-parter that would end the "Fast" franchise once and for all. However, Vin Diesel recently stated that it's actually the first film in a "Fast" trilogy. So, it's no surprise that there are a lot of unanswered questions in "Fast X" that have left fans searching for answers. From lingering questions surrounding the fates of certain characters to wondering how some of those surprise reveals happened, "Fast X" really leaves a lot of cliffhangers for fans to ponder on.
Spoilers ahead.
Why didn't the Rome bomb explode earlier?
The first part of Dante's big plan is to bring Dom's crew to Rome — he plans to detonate a bomb at the Vatican and blame it on them. While Dom's crew has averted disasters like this before, they don't here and Dante's plan succeeds — kind of miraculously, if we're being honest. As viewers, we're asked to believe that the metal casing surrounding the bomb helps protect it and lets it roll throughout the city on its own. But seriously, what is that thing made of?
When it gains enough speed, it slices through buses like butter and it can't even be stopped by cars ramming into it. Even when its direction changes or it runs into an obstacle, it doesn't lose momentum in the slightest. It's even more mind-boggling how the bomb doesn't explode when it catches on fire, as the metal casing heating up would surely cause some kind of reaction. Dante must be one hell of a planner because he somehow found the most indestructible material to protect this bomb. This whole sequence completely defies logic — the explosive has literal plot armor.
Why is Aimes leading The Agency?
With Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) being absent this time around, there's a new leader of The Agency who's also on the hunt for Dom and his crew. Aimes is a bulky newbie to the franchise who's more than capable of fighting in the field, and he has some ulterior motives that no one is aware of until the final moments of the film. Aimes becoming the leader of The Agency is obviously all part of Dante's plan, since their soldiers are used for a lot of dirty work. However, it's never really explained how Aimes became the next in line to take over The Agency.
He's never been mentioned before and it's a little bizarre that Mr. Nobody's kids didn't get the opportunity to follow in their father's footsteps. Maybe that's why Tess (Brie Larson) doesn't really trust Aimes from the start and is constantly trying to get ahead of his plans. Still though, it feels a little too convenient that Aimes found his way into a position of power so easily and the film definitely could've done more to flesh out his rise to the top within The Agency.
Why does Letty waste time fighting Cipher?
When Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and Cipher (Charlize Theron) find themselves bound in The Agency's med lab, it seems like their chances of escaping are dwindling. As always though, Cipher has a plan and finds a way to knock out all the scientists, escape her restraints, and pave a way for both her and Letty to escape. Although Cipher has been a major enemy of Dom's crew, she acknowledges that Dante is a common enemy and shows some interest in working with the crew. While her past actions make her not completely trustworthy, Letty makes a baffling choice to fight Cipher in this moment instead of working with her to escape.
Letty literally has no plan of escape of her own and she wastes a lot of time trying to fight Cipher when she doesn't need to. Even when Letty wins, she's now wasted a lot of energy and still doesn't have a great plan to get out of the facility. Her actions come back to bite her when she discovers that she's in the middle of Antarctica after making it outside. She eventually comes crawling back to work with Cipher anyway, so her choice to fight was pretty pointless. Cipher clearly knew what was really going on and Letty makes a terrible choice when she fights first and asks questions later.
Where's the Tokyo Drift crew?
When "F9" brought Sean (Lucas Black), Twinkie (Shad Moss), and Earl (Jason Tobin) — the beloved trio from "Tokyo Drift" — back, it was a great moment, with the franchise rightly celebrating one of its underrated gems. By the end of the film, the trio is drinking beers with the rest of the crew at one of Dom's famous barbecues. In "Fast X," though, they're inexplicably absent and it's kind of suspicious. It seemed like the three were officially integrated into the group, and, given that they've worked with Dom before, they're all clearly on Dante's radar.
Perhaps they'll return in one of the two follow-up films — there wouldn't have been much more for them to do here anyway, and Dante attacking everyone would definitely give them cause to get back behind the wheel. Maybe their return will even allow the franchise to head back to space, which would definitely help to make the three-part finale much more epic. It's a shame, though, that the "Tokyo Drift" crew has once again been left in the shadows for "Fast X."
Is Cipher officially part of the crew now?
Cipher has been a pain in Dom's side for multiple films now, but in "Fast X" she acts much more like an ally to him. She warns Dom of Dante's presence and that he's taken a lot of her technology and manpower. She even helps Letty escape The Agency's Antarctic facility after they've engaged in some vicious hand-to-hand combat. Cipher is more friend than foe this time around, which begs the question: Is she now an official member of the crew?
Given Cipher's past and the bad blood that persists between her and Dom's team, this seems like a temporary alliance more than an actual team-up. Cipher definitely isn't giving up on her plans for world domination and is likely just helping the team because she feels so burned by Dante stealing everything from her. Cipher's skillset will definitely be a valuable asset to Dom as he goes about trying to take Dante down. Once she and Letty escape from the Antarctic, the dynamic between Cipher and Dom will be interesting to see.
What is Shaw's plan?
Han's (Sung Kang) decision to go to Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) for help is pretty noteworthy given their bad past. After fighting off some of The Agency's soldiers, Shaw is able to provide Han and the other crew members with some weapons that will help them reunite with Dom. However, when Ramsey discovers that Dante is targeting pretty much everyone that's worked with Dom, she realizes that Shaw's mother Queenie (Helen Mirren) is also on his hit list. This prompts Shaw to arm up and go find his mother to protect her.
This is pretty much where Shaw exits the film, and his plan — as well as his future in the franchise — is left a mystery. He'll likely return in a sequel where he'll no doubt be fighting Dante's forces to save Queenie before working with Dom to take out Dante. Based on the film's post-credits scene, Shaw might even find himself teaming up with a former frenemy. For now, though, Shaw is somewhere out there, and fans will just have to wait to find out what his plan is.
Is Jakob really dead?
One of the most heartbreaking moments in "Fast X" comes in the film's big finale sequence, in which a grave sacrifice is made. Dom's brother Jakob Toretto (John Cena) definitely shows much more heart here than he did in "F9" and acts as a very fun uncle for Little B (Leo Abelo Perry). However, he is still haunted by how he's wronged his family before and so he makes a heroic sacrifice to save them. When Dante's forces start to overwhelm Dom, Jakob decides to ram into the brigade, causing all the cars involved to explode. While this might seem like a definitive death (especially since the moment is played for maximum emotion), it's hard not to wonder if Jakob will actually stay dead.
After all, this franchise has quite a history of pretending to kill its characters — the creators even brought back another character in this film that fans thought was long dead. It's tough to imagine how they could explain Jakob escaping the burning wreckage, at least without sustaining some severe damage. However, this is the "Fast" franchise, where characters always seem to find a way to return from the dead even when it seems impossible.
Are the people on the plane still alive?
Han, Ramsey, Tej (Ludacris), and Roman (Tyrese Gibson) are off on their own for most of the film, after Dante's bomb in Rome leads to them being wanted by everyone. However, once they're able to secure a plane, they load up some cars and fly towards Dom to help him out. Unfortunately, this all ends up being part of Dante's plan — just as they come towards the dam, Dante fires missiles towards them. This causes the plane to crash and explode just off frame behind a mountain. So, did "Fast X" really just wipe out half of the crew?
The answer is left unclear, but it's probably no, since it all happens away from Dom and off-camera. With all the cars sitting in the back of the plane, it's easy to see the next film opening with a scene of them driving out of the plane and down the mountain to safety. It's an unlikely scenario in real life, but, as we've mentioned, this is the franchise that took a car to space, so nothing is off the table. While it's definitely a gutsy move for "Fast X" to suggest that half of Dom's crew has perished, the chances are the plane crash was just a bluff meant to give the film's finale more impact.
How did Gisele come back from the dead?
It was pretty remarkable when Han returned in "F9" after being considered dead for so long, but "Fast X" somehow tops that reveal by resurrecting another character that was thought to be a goner. As Cipher and Letty walk through the arctic tundra, they eventually come across a submarine that rises through the ice, and it's being operated by someone totally unexpected: Gisele (Gal Gadot). That's right — after dying back in "Fast and Furious 6," Gisele has somehow risen from the dead and is going to help Cipher and Letty escape their frozen hell.
The film doesn't provide any explanation for Gisele's sudden return, so fans will have to wait for the next film to get their answers — unless someone involved with the franchise decides to come out and explain it before then. It's going to be pretty interesting to see how the next film addresses this shocking appearance from Gisele, but fans will certainly love seeing the character return. We already can't wait to see her reunite with Han at some point.
Where does the franchise go from here?
Probably the biggest unresolved question coming out of "Fast X" is: Where does the franchise go from here? Most of its characters are either in perilous situations or totally missing. We already know that "Fast X" is the start of an overarching final story for the franchise, with Vin Diesel confirming that a trilogy is on the cards. One of the few people who is all but confirmed to be in the next movie is the villainous Dante, as we get a glimpse of his bigger plans in a post-credits scene.
At this point we know that Dante wants to take out everyone who has ever worked with Dom's crew before. However, no one expected that his next big target would be Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), who is seen getting a call from Dante while on a mission. Hobbs was actually the one who put a bullet in Dante's father during the heist in Rio de Janeiro, so he's firmly in Dante's crosshairs.
Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel had a well-documented feud after the former WWE star joined the franchise, so his appearance here was a surprise. But it's clear that Hobbs is returning in a big way, and maybe with Shaw out doing his own thing we'll get a "Hobbs & Shaw" sequel as the next film. For now, though, the future of the "Fast" franchise is a mystery.