Fast & Furious 11 Report May Spell Doom For Jason Momoa's Dante Reyes
If a recent report is to be believed, Jason Momoa's "Fast X" villain, Dante Reyes, may not be playing as big of a role in "Fast and Furious 11" as was previously thought. Despite "Fast X" ending with a cliffhanger that sees Dante seemingly victorious over Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto, Universal Pictures is apparently thinking about introducing an all-new main villain for what may be the final movie in the franchise.
According to a report from Jeff Sneider of The InSneider (via ComingSoon.net), "Fast 11" will look to scale things back from the bombastic spectacles that have become the series' bread and butter. Allegedly, part of that plan is introducing a new antagonist. Sneider said a source told him that the film will aim for a budget of $200 million or less — a huge cutback from the $340 million budget of "Fast X." According to the source, the studio aims to return the franchise to its roots with a "lean and mean" story. Instead of a series of globetrotting setpieces, the final "Fast" movie may be a more focused narrative, with a single race or robbery taking centerstage.
Is Fast and Furious 11 aiming too high?
The "Fast X" cliffhanger leaves a lot of dangling plot threads. Most of the team goes down in a plane crash, Gal Gadot's Gisele — who hasn't been seen since "Fast and Furious 6" — is alive and piloting a submarine for some reason, Dwayne Johnson is back in the mix as Luke Hobbs, and Jason Momoa's flamboyant villain is about to explode a dam on top of Dom and his son. Wrapping all of that up could probably fill a movie all on its own. Adding a new villain on top of everything else is an ambitious goal, especially on a reduced budget. Plus, there's the added pressure of the next film potentially wrapping up a saga that's been running for over 20 years.
There's also the matter of star and producer Vin Diesel, who was accused of sexual battery by a former assistant in December 2023. The alleged event took place in 2010, according to the lawsuit. Diesel has denied the claim.
Momoa is a scene-stealer in "Fast X" and was praised by many as the best part of the movie. Failing to capitalize on his popularity would seem like an odd choice considering he was the saving grace in many of the last movie's fairly middling reviews. If the plan is to write out Dante and conclude the series with a more grounded story, the filmmakers could have a hard time balancing the tone, as we've seen these guys literally drive into space at this point. It remains to be seen how many of these rumors are true and what exactly "Fast and Furious 11" will look like.