Today, the Fast & The Furious franchise may have celebrated a new digital film release, but one actress isn’t ready to celebrate just yet. Michelle Rodriguez is one of the franchise’s most famous stars, and the actress took to social media earlier to deliver a stern warning to Universal. Fast & Furious 9 has to do better by its women if the studio wants Rodriguez to stick around.
Over on Instagram, Rodriguez made her threat loud and clear with a straight-forward photo caption. “F8 is out digitally today, I hope they decide to show some love to the women of the franchise on the next one,” she wrote. “Or I just might have to say goodbye to a loved franchise.”
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“It’s been a good ride & Im [sic] grateful for the opportunity the fans & studio have provided over the years… One Love.”
When it comes to female characters, Fast & The Furious has had some big misses. The franchise’s most recent installment made strides to include more strong-willed women thanks to Helen Mirren and Charlize Theron; However, that has not always been the case. Jordana Brewster was cut out of the series following Paul Walker’s tragic death, and Elena Nives was shot point-blank in the last Fast & The Furious film.
This is not the first time Rodriguez has criticized the high-octane series for its male-centric tone. During an interview with Australia’s Herald Sun this year, the actress described the films by saying “three girls and 20 dudes is a sausage factory.”
Currently, there are two more films planned for the ongoing Fast & The Furious series. The franchise is sure to split off into new venues as its stories diversify, so Rodriguez’s character Letty may get a chance to lead her own spinoff one day. If Rodriguez has it her way, then she may get to star in a standalone filled with nothing but fast cars and fierce women.
In The Fate of the Furious, with Dom and Letty married, Brian and Mia retired and the rest of the crew exonerated, the globe-trotting team has found some semblance of a normal life. They soon face an unexpected challenge when a mysterious woman named Cipher forces Dom to betray them all. Now, they must unite to bring home the man who made them a family and stop Cipher from unleashing chaos.
NEXT: Fate of the Furious Official Review
The Fate of the Furious is directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Chris Morgan. The film stars Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Scott Eastwood, Nathalie Emmanuel, Kurt Russell and Charlize Theron.
The Fate of the Furious is available on Home Video. Plans for two more sequels in The Fast and the Furious franchise are already in place – as well as the upcoming spinoff starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jason Statham. The film currently holds an nice 75.81/100 score in our movie composite rankings – be sure to rate the film for yourself HERE.
Fate of the Furious will be available on Blu-ray and DVD on July 11th.
Photo Credit: Universal Pictures
