Michelle Rodriguez revealed that she forced rewrites on 2001's The Fast and the Furious because she had issues with the way her character was originally written. Rodriguez has played Letty in five Fast and Furious films to date and will reprise the iconic role in F9.
The Fast and the Furious was 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 Furious grossed $207 million worldwide and ignited one of the most successful media franchises of all time.
In a new Fast and Furious oral history from 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 because the original The Fast and the Furious script 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-running characters in the Fast and Furious franchise, 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 original The Fast and the Furious.
Rodriguez will next be seen alongside Diesel, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, and Charlize Theron in Justin Lin’s F9. The upcoming blockbuster is the sequel to 2017’s The Fate of the Furious and finished 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 eleventh Fast and Furious films will be the final two entries in the main saga
F9: The Fast Saga is scheduled to be released in theatres on June 25, 2021.
Source: Entertainment Weekly