Actress Michelle Rodriguez has been a key component of the Fast and Furious franchise since the beginning, sitting out only one entry after her character Letty seemingly died and then came back.
In 2017, in the wake of the release of the eighth film The Fate of the Furious, Rodriguez publicly expressed her disappointment of the treatment of the series’ female characters in the films thus far and it made her potential return to the role of Letty in the upcoming ninth installment a questionable one.
Speaking with Vanity Fair last week, Rodriguez says she’s still not sure about coming back:
“I don’t know if I’m coming back. I have to read the script first. Once I read the script, I’ll know. When I read the script – and I hope that it’s inclusive – then I’ll agree to come back or not. My energy is completely directed toward the feminine right now and supporting women.
I’ve spent most of my life shooting guns, and hanging out with the boys, and watching them scratch their balls, and smelling protein-mixed farts. And now I’m feeling the poetry and the beauty and the sensuality of women, and the power we bring together.
So they need to show more love to the women. I don’t know which direction it’s going to go. But I know that I’m headed in that direction. We’ll see if that all matches.”
Justin Lin returns to helm the new film which is set for a 2020 release and also isn’t expected to include either Dwayne Johnson or Jason Statham’s characters due to their attachments in this Summer’s spin-off “Hobbs and Shaw”.
Rodriguez also spoke out last week in defense of her “Widows” co-star Liam Neeson with a quote that hasn’t been well received. In an Instagram post on Saturday, she took back the comment saying:
“To my friends and colleagues and my fans and community: I want to deeply apologize for my recent choice of words, and poor use of example. In a pressure-filled situation, I defended a friend in the wrong way. I now realize how insensitive it was, and I had no intention of invoking such a terrible historical comparison.”
Rodriguez has an uncredited small role in Alita: Battle Angel opening February 14th.
