#F9 Brings the Women of Fast & Furious Into the Forefront Says Michelle Rodriguez

The Fast & Furious films are possibly the most testosterone-fuelled franchise that Hollywood has ever come up with. Unfortunately, this often meant that the women in the series were reduced to staying in the background while the guys raced cars and compared their bicep sizes. Michelle Rodriguez, who has been a part of Fast & Furious from the start in the role of Letty Ortiz, revealed to Collider that the upcoming Fast & Furious 9 brings all of the franchise’s female characters to the forefront.

“My heart warmed when I saw that there was actually not one single bit of resistance against the idea of bringing the females of the franchise into the forefront. Justin was super on board with it. Vin was super on board with it. He’s always been supportive of strong women. And the studio hired an amazing writer to come on board and touch up all of the female characters. When I actually watched the movie, I was like, “Yeah, okay, drop mic. I can chill now.” I felt like all of the females in the franchise got equal amounts of love, and that, to me, warmed my heart. If they win, I win.”

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In the past, Michelle Rodriguez has been quite vocal about wanting the women of Fast & Furious to have more substantial roles. The producers agreed, and a writer was brought in specially to punch up the scenes for Letty and the rest of the female cast in F9.

The movie also features a return of Charlize Theron as the main villain Cipher, who recruits Dominic Toretto’s brother Jakob to take down Dom’s crew. Aside from Letty and Cipher, F9 will feature Mia, Dominic’s sister, and Ramsey, played by Game of Thrones alum Nathalie Emmanuel. According to Rodriguez, Ramsey will have a much more substantial role in F9 than simply being the techie in charge of hacking into things.

“To see Nathalie [Emmanuel] doing something other than typing into a computer and doing techie stuff, to see this wonderful new character who’s a walking weapon just kick ass and take names to see me as character, and to see Jordana Brewster’s Mia come in and get her hands dirty again in full-on fight action sequences, I was like, “Yes, that’s what I’m talking about, guys. Let’s do this!” I was super happy.”

Apart from being a part of F9, Vin Diesel confirmed last year that an all-female Fast & Furious movie is also in the works, which Rodriguez will be headlining. For now, fans are excited to see Diesel, Rodriguez, and the rest of Dom’s crew coming back together to once again drive cars, punch enemies, and talk about the importance of family.

Directed by Justin Lin, F9 stars Vin Diesel, John Cena, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Sung Kang, with Helen Mirren, Charlize Theron, and Cardi B. The film arrives in theaters on May 28. This news originated at Collider.

Topics: Fast and Furious 9, Fast and Furious