Vin Diesel has been on the road with the “Fast & Furious” franchise for more than ten years, and he won’t be done with it anytime soon, if he has anything to say about it.
HItFix’s Guy Lodge sat down with the “F&F” star to discuss the challenge of playing the same character over the course of more than a decade, the return of Michelle Rodriguez, and what we can expect in the future of the franchise. Watch the full interview above.
With extensive acting training (his father was an acting coach), Diesel says he faced new challenges in playing the character of Toretto for more than ten years, noting that the time frame led him to incorporate his own growth as a person into the role. This allowed the character to evolve in a naturalistic way, which wouldn’t have been possible in just one or two films.
Diesel also talks up the return of Rodriguez’s presumed-dead character Letty. She was revealed to be coming back at the end of “Fast Five.” For Diesel, having Rodriguez (“Avatar”) back in the fold was “better than great.”
“If it weren’t for Letty,” he reveals, “we wouldn’t have done ‘Fast 6.'”
Another big change is rocking the foundations of the “Furious” franchise, as “Saw” director James Wan is replacing longtime series helmer Justin Lin for the next film.
The move will help “Fast 7” go in a new direction.
“‘7’ is the beginning of the next trilogy in the thought-out story,” Diesel contends, noting that the first six films form two distinct trilogies. “The three stories of 7, 8 and 9 are mapped out in a structure, even if they’re not signed off on,” he continues. “The direction of 7, 8 and 9 is clear.”
“Fast and Furious 6” also stars series veterans Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, and newcomers Gina Carano and Luke Evans.
“Fast & Furious 6” opens May 24.