Fast X (also known as Fast & Furious 10) is a 2023 American action film directed by Louis Leterrier from a screenplay by Dan Mazeau and Justin Lin, both of whom also co-wrote the story with Zach Dean. The sequel to F9 (2021), it is the tenth main installment and the eleventh installment overall in the Fast & Furious franchise. It stars Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto, alongside Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, John Cena, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Scott Eastwood, Daniela Melchior, Alan Ritchson, Helen Mirren, Brie Larson, Rita Moreno, Jason Statham, Jason Momoa, and Charlize Theron. In the film, Toretto must protect his family from Dante Reyes (Momoa), who pursues revenge for his father's death and the loss of their fortune.
Development on a tenth main Fast & Furious film began by October 2020, with Lin returning to direct. The film's official title was revealed when principal photography began in April 2022. Lin left as director later that month, citing creative differences, though he retained writing and producing credits. Leterrier was then hired as his replacement a week later and performed several uncredited rewrites to the screenplay. Longtime franchise composer Brian Tyler returned to score the film. With an estimated net production budget of $378.8 million, Fast X is the sixth-most expensive film ever made. Filming lasted until that August, taking place in London, Rome, Turin, Lisbon, and Los Angeles.
Fast X premiered in Rome on May 12, 2023, and was released in the United States on May 19, by Universal Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for its action sequences and Momoa's performance but criticism towards the writing, and grossed $714 million worldwide, becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2023, but underperformed studio and analyst expectations. A sequel, Fast Forever, is scheduled for 2028.
Plot Dominic "Dom" Toretto and his team are asked by the Agency to steal a computer chip during its transit in Rome. Dom and his wife Leticia "Letty" Ortiz stay behind with his son Brian "Little B" Marcos, while Roman Pearce, Tej Parker, Han Lue, and Ramsey travel to Rome.
A wounded Cipher arrives at Dom's home and reveals that Hernan Reyes's son, Dante, has turned her crew against her by kidnapping their families. He intends to target Dom in revenge for his father's death and the loss of his family's fortune ten years earlier. The next morning, Little Nobody tells Dom and Letty that the Agency has no mission in Rome, revealing that Dante has manipulated the team. Dom, Letty and Little Nobody travel there to rescue them.
Tej, Han and Ramsey break into the truck carrying the supposed computer chip, only to discover a DM-79 sub-nautical neutron mine. Dante remotely activates it and releases it into Rome's streets. Dom pushes the bomb into the Tiber River, limiting the damage, while Letty is arrested. Aimes, the Agency's de facto leader since Mr. Nobody's disappearance, assumes Dom's team caused the bombing and orders a manhunt.
In Los Angeles, Dom and Mia's brother Jakob rescues Mia and Little B from Agency agents. With Mia's approval, Jakob takes Little B to a safe location in Portugal. Mr. Nobody's daughter, Tess, believes the team is innocent and uses God's Eye, a mass surveillance programme, to locate Dom in Naples. She tells him that Dante is in Rio de Janeiro.
Dom challenges Dante to a race in Rio alongside Elena Neves's sister Isabel and his ally Diogo. Dante kills Diogo with a bomb attached to his Porsche 911 when Dom chooses to save Isabel, winning the race. Meanwhile, Tess covertly wounds Letty at the black site, sending her to its treatment centre, where Cipher is also held. They deduce that the facility is in Antarctica and agree to escape together.
In London, Dom's team seeks help from Deckard Shaw. After fighting Shaw and Agency agents, Shaw agrees to assist while leaving to protect his mother from Dante's men. Aimes captures Dom in Rio, but Dante intercepts them on the bridge where Dom and Dante first met during the vault heist. A sniper wounds Tess, and Dante steals God's Eye from her. Aimes then allies with Dom against Dante.
Dante locates and kidnaps Little B in Portugal. Jakob sacrifices himself to destroy the pursuing mercenaries, allowing Dom to rescue his son. Dante then reveals that Aimes is his co-conspirator and shoots down a plane carrying Roman, Tej, Ramsey and Han. Dom drives off a dam with Little B to escape another trap. Dante detonates explosives planted on the dam, intending to kill them.
In Antarctica, Gisele Yashar, presumed dead, emerges from a submarine and rescues Letty and Cipher.
In a mid-credits scene, Luke Hobbs infiltrates an abandoned theatre with a team of agents and receives a call from Dante, who declares Hobbs his next target for killing his father. Hobbs replies that he is easy to find and crushes the phone Dante contacted him on with his bare hands.
Cast
Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto:A former criminal and professional street racer who has retired and settled down with his wife, Letty Ortiz, and his son, Brian Marcos. In an interview, Louis Leterrier described Fast X as exploring the fallout of Dom's actions in previous installments, saying "[Dom] has fought so hard to keep faith and protect family [but] there is a price to pay. His enemies are coming after him". Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz: Dom's wife and a former criminal and professional street racer. Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce: An ex-habitual offender, expert street racer, and a member of Dom's team. Ludacris (credited as Chris "Ludacris" Bridges) as Tej Parker: A tech expert, mechanic, and a member of Dom's team. John Cena as Jakob Toretto: Dom and Mia's brother and a master thief, assassin, and high-performance driver who once worked as an agent for Mr. Nobody. He has since reformed into a kinder person, sharing a loving relationship with his nephew, Little Brian. Nathalie Emmanuel as Ramsey: A computer hacktivist and a member of Dom's team. Emmanuel said that the character would see increased involvement in Fast X compared to the previous films. Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto: Dom and Jakob's sister and a member of Dom's team who has two children with her husband, Brian O'Conner. Sung Kang as Han Lue: An expert drifter and member of Dom's team who previously faked his death during a covert operation for Mr. Nobody. Scott Eastwood as Little Nobody: A government law enforcement agent who worked under Mr. Nobody. Daniela Melchior as Isabel Neves: A Brazilian street racer and the sister of Dom's former girlfriend and Little B's mother, Elena Neves. Alan Ritchson as Aimes: The new leader of Mr. Nobody's agency who is covertly working with Dante. In early drafts, Aimes and Dante were brothers, and Ritchson revealed the film's plot twist was filmed alongside another ending, saying, "Aimes wouldn't care [if] he's evil [if] his methods made him feel like he was a good guy". Helen Mirren as Magdalene "Queenie" Ellmanson-Shaw: The leader of a female militia and an ally of Dom, as well as the mother of his former enemies Deckard and Owen. Mirren drew inspiration for the character from her aunt (also nicknamed Queenie) and from her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen (2006). Brie Larson as Tess: Mr. Nobody's daughter and agent who allies with Dom and his crew. According to Diesel, Larson drew inspiration from his daughter, Pauline, for the character. Rita Moreno as Abuelita Toretto: Dom, Jakob, and Mia's paternal grandmother. Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw: A former opponent of Dom and his team, who became an ally and new member after saving his son. Deckard's younger brother, Owen, was hospitalized working for Cipher. Jason Momoa as Dante Reyes: The son of drug lord Hernan Reyes, seeking revenge against Dom and his crew for the death of his father and loss of his family's fortune in Fast Five (2011). Momoa described the character as Dom's foil, saying Dante is "very sadistic and androgynous and he's a bit of a peacock... He's got a lot of issues. He's definitely got some daddy issues". Momoa expressed a desire to play against type when portraying Dante, taking on a "less macho" character, and he performed his own stunts for the film. Charlize Theron as Cipher: A criminal mastermind and cyberterrorist who was previously an enemy of Dom's team. Leterrier described Cipher as the "devil", and speaking on her dynamic with Dante, Leterrier said, "They are bad news, but one is more afraid than the other. One is worse news than the other".
Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson reprise their roles from the franchise uncredited as Gisele Yashar and Luke Hobbs during the final scene and mid-credits scene, respectively. Joaquim de Almeida reprises his role as Hernan Reyes, a ruthless drug lord and Dante's father, from Fast Five, while Leo Abelo Perry portrays Brian "Little B" Marcos, Dom's son. Luis Da Silva reprises his role from Fast Five as Diogo, a Brazilian street racer who allies with Dom and his crew. Cameo appearances include Brazilian singer Ludmilla as a race starter in Rio de Janeiro, Pete Davidson as Bowie, a friend of Ramsey, Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner via archival footage from Fast Five and his daughter Meadow as a flight attendant helping Jakob, and Debby Ryan and Josh Dun (credited as themselves) as a couple in an airport.
Production Development
In November 2014, Universal Pictures chairwoman Donna Langley confirmed that a discussion regarding three sequels to Furious 7 (2015) had taken place. Actor Vin Diesel reaffirmed this in September 2015, alluding the trilogy could lead to the mainline series' conclusion. Universal began developing two further sequels to F9 (2021) by October 2020. Justin Lin was to direct both films, with the tenth, Fast X, reworked to make its story the first half of a two-part finale, with the eleventh serving as the second half. Neal H. Moritz, Diesel, Jeff Kirschenbaum, Samantha Vincent, and Lin served as producers; Joe Caracciolo Jr., David Cain, Amanda Lewis, Chris Morgan and Mark Bomback were executive producers.
Writing Lin and Dan Mazeau began writing their first draft in April 2022. That June, Tyrese Gibson announced Fast X would see the franchise "going back to its roots", with reports indicating this to be a return to street racing elements of previous entries, although he also shared details the film would also continue to explore the history of the Toretto family in a "similar" vein to F9. Leterrier later revealed the film focuses on increased familial responsibilities, saying, "Dom was always a lone wolf. He was living a quarter mile at a time [but] the stakes are real now. [He is] responsible for a human being, an innocent life [he] brought into the world". During an August 2022 interview with ComicBook, Nathalie Emmanuel said "the stakes are higher on a more personal level in this [film]", indicating a more grounded approach compared to previous installments. In developing the character of Dante, Leterrier revealed they wanted to forge the "anti-Dom", saying, "[Dante] is the yang of [Dom's] yin, the antichrist of his Christ", and wanted to give Dante clear motivation with Dom's role in Dante's origin story, noting, "There are strong ties with [Dante and Dom] and that is what makes an amazing villain because you understand why they became this and [their motivations]". Leterrier noted Larson's character as being influenced by "the generational legacy of the characters", saying, "Everybody [in the franchise] has a different point of view on Dom and his influence on their lives. That's how she [fits in]".