Who The Fast And Furious 9 Cast Want To Join The Franchise
Fast and Furious 9 will hit theaters in May 2020, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun planning ahead for the next (and final) entry in the franchise. MTV International was able to wrangle Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, and Jordana Brewster after the concert-performance-slash-trailer-reveal for F9 and ask them what their dream actor pickup would be for the last (possibly two-part) film.
Their suggestions ran the gamut from household names to obscure actors, but all of the stars certainly had some interesting choices. For a franchise built on wish fulfillment, it almost feels dangerous to just let the actors vocalize who they want to include in Fast and Furious 10, lest that particular magic they all appear to wield make their choices manifest before them, like a genie bound to their will. They got Helen Mirren, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Jason Statham to not only show up, but enthusiastically join the franchise for more than one outing, after all. There's nothing these movies can't do — they can even revive the dead. What were the Fast Saga stars' casting takes, and as we entertain a perfect world in which none of their suggestions have other filming commitments, what would they bring to the franchise's table?
Can Vin Diesel flex his charisma bonus again?
Vin Diesel's choice was the illustrious Dame Judi Dench. That might sound odd to the uninitiated, but Diesel already charmed her into appearing in another one of his movies, The Chronicles of Riddick, back in ye olde days of 2004. In 2017, Dench gave an interview to Entertainment Weekly reflecting on her career, and told a story about how Diesel convinced her to make time for his little sci-fi adventure. "I was doing a play at the Haymarket Theatre in London and I didn't know that Vin Diesel, the one and only, was there," she explained. "Vin sent me a bouquet of flowers that were so big they couldn't fit up the stairs to my dressing room. They could not get them into the corridor. Then he asked if I would be in his film. And of course I said yes. Why ever not?"
Longtime fans of either actor may also know that the set of Chronicles of Riddick is apparently where Diesel taught Dench how to play Dungeons & Dragons, which she has since gone on to teach to her grandchildren. They're not just erstwhile coworkers, they're tight. Why not let her spin out Toretto's gigantic Dodge Challenger? We'd buy twelve tickets.
Michelle Rodriguez frets over wanting a serious actor
Upon submitting Matt Damon as her suggestion, Rodriguez seemed to get cold feet: "I like Matt Damon. But I wonder if he would do something so — a lot of the stuff we do is so silly, and he's such a serious cat. I wonder if he'd be into it. He's a serious fella. I really like him."
Don't be shy, Michelle. Yes, the Fast Saga does indeed reach for the melodrama early and often (in the best way), but Damon was an egomaniacal angel in Dogma once upon a time, remember? And don't forget about that kooky-yet-masterful cameo in Thor: Ragnarok. He does heist movies, and several of the Fast Saga films fit that description; we all loved him being sassy in Ocean's Eleven. We know he loves to drive a stunt car, too — consider those Jason Bourne movies, and Ford v. Ferrari. Surely he'd enjoy cutting loose a little bit, and would agree to sign up to drive a car to space or whatever hijinks the cast will get up to in their last foray.
Ludacris wishes on another triple-A action star
For his money, Ludacris makes a low-key genius bet on adding Denzel Washington to the Fast and Furious universe. The storied, Oscar-winning actor has more than enough action film credits under his belt to qualify six ways from Sunday. One movie almost seems like too few to include him in, however — we know there will be Fast Saga spin-offs going forward, so would it be asking too much to add Washington as a short series villain? He'd make a good anti-Dom Toretto: perfectly no-nonsense, oozes street cred, and very capable with diplomacy until he decides it's time to dole out some old-fashioned street justice.
Unfortunately, however well we might be able to picture him there, that ship has kind of sailed. Producers approached Washington in 2013 for a role in Furious 7, only for him to reportedly turn it down due to a lack of interest (via Slashfilm).
Jordana Brewster has a left field suggestion
Jordana Brewster submitted a very unique offering as to who she thinks should join the Fast franchise: Marion Cotillard. Many may not immediately recognize the name; she is a French actress with a filmography mostly stacked with dramatic and musical roles (she'll be costarring in the musical Annette with Adam Driver in 2020, for example).
Insofar as American films that you may recognize her from, Cotillard was featured in Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, and Midnight In Paris. Brewster didn't give much more context for her reasoning, but to be completely honest, no context was really needed; heck, the Fast films are like one big Hollywood playground. When your actors' portfolio runs from Mirren, to Idris Elba, to The Rock, to the late Paul Walker, anybody could show up, and a way could be found to fit them in no matter how difficult the fit may seem at first blush. Cotillard wouldn't be the first Oscar-slash-Golden-Globe winner featured, after all — and somehow, we get the feeling that she wouldn't be the last.