Michelle Rodriguez revealed that she forced rewrites on 2001’sThe Fast and the Furiousbecause she had issues with the way her character was originally written. Rodriguez has played Letty in fiveFast and Furiousfilms to date andwill reprise the iconic role inF9.
The Fast and the Furiouswas directed by Rob Cohen and written by Gary Scott Thompson and David Ayer. The action blockbuster follows Brian O’Conner, an undercover LA police officer who tries to convict a group of illegal street racers. O’Connor soon falls in love with the speed racing world and the sister of the criminal he’s tasked to bring down. The cast included Paul Walker as Brian O’Conner, Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto, Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz, and Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto. Despite receiving poor reviews from critics,The Fast and the Furiousgrossed $207 million worldwide and ignited one of the most successful media franchises of all time.
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In anewFast and Furiousoral historyfrom Entertainment Weekly, Rodriguez and Brewster explained why the former almost quit the original film. Brewster stated that Rodriguez pushed the writers to add more layers to her character. “When Michelle [Rodriguez] read her role, she was like, ‘No, I’m not playing that.’ And then she changed it completely," said Brewster, while adding, “It went from a trophy girlfriend to this really layered character.”
Rodriguez noted that she had to be honest and voice her concerns becausethe originalThe Fast and the Furiousscript wasn’t realistic. The action star asserted that it was a reality check for the writers. “You don’t just get with a guy because he’s hot. There’s a hierarchy there. Can that hot guy get beat up by who you’re dating? If he can, then you don’t date him, because why would you want to lose the hierarchy?” Rodriguez added, “I’m not going to be a slut in front of millions of people, so you’re going to lose me if you don’t change this.' And they figured it out.”
Rodriguez’s Letty is one of the longest-runningcharacters in theFast and Furiousfranchise, and she is best known for being a skilled street racer and mechanic. The character has evolved throughout the franchise, as she went from being Dom’s love interest to one of the leaders of the crew. Rodriguez explained that she pushed for her character to have fight scenes. “I felt like you don’t sit around and let your boys throw down without getting your hands dirty. If you don’t, then are you just there to model? That doesn’t work where I come from.” Producer Neal H. Moritz acknowledged that Rodriguez’s perspective was needed since male screenwriters wrote the characters in the originalThe Fast and the Furious.
Rodriguez will next be seen alongside Diesel, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, and Charlize Theron in Justin Lin’sF9.The upcoming blockbuster is the sequel to 2017’sThe Fate of the Furious andfinished filming in 2019.WWE star John Cena is playing Jakob, a master thief who is also the brother to Dom and Mia. The twenty-year franchise will soon be coming to an end. Lin revealed that the tenth and eleventhFast and Furiousfilms will be the final two entries in the main saga
F9: The Fast Sagais scheduled to be released in theatres on August 07, 2025.
