Michelle Rodriguez threatens to leave the “Fast and Furious” franchise over its lack of female representation
It looks like there may be tension brewing in the Fast and the Furious family, and the franchise may soon be saying goodbye to one of it’s longtime stars. Michelle Rodriguez, who appeared as Letty in five of the franchise’s eight films, announced via Instagram that she may leave the film series for “not showing love” to its female characters.
"F8 is out digitally today, I hope they decide to show some love to the women of the franchise on the next one. Or I just might have to say goodbye to a loved franchise," Rodriguez wrote, alongside a collage of set photos. "It's been a good ride & I'm grateful for the opportunity the fans & studio have provided over the years... One Love."
This would be a HUGE loss.
Rodriguez and Vin Diesel are the only two remaining cast members from the original 2001 film left in the franchise, after Paul Walker’s death in 2013 and Jordana Brewster’s character being written out alongside Walker’s. Due to her significant role in the films, Rodriguez’s departure would definitely be a blow for the long-running film series.
But, this isn’t the first time Rodriguez has spoken out about the treatment of the Fast women onscreen.
In May, the Girlfight actress opened up to Entertainment Weekly about her frustrations with the ways women interacted with each other in the Fast films, and the lack of those interactions.
"Having girls run around and do a bunch of really cool stuff, that’s great, it’s wonderful, but we never talk to each other. It’s very rare that they even look at each other," Rodriguez said. "I’ve been making movies with Jordana [Brewster], who plays the sister of Dom Toretto, for 16 years and I can count on one hand how many lines I’ve had to her. I think that’s pathetic and it’s lack of creativity."
Brewster agreed with Rodriguez’s sentiment, noting that it was odd that their characters were supposedly very close, but almost never actually interacted with each other onscreen.
And while the franchise has seen the additions of Nathalie Emmanuel, Elsa Pataky, Helen Mirren, and Gal Gadot since the first installment — which featured Rodriguez and Brewser as the sole, main female characters — the women still rarely interact with each other and are almost always dominated by the Fast men onscreen.
We *really* hope we haven’t seen the last of Letty. But regardless, we totally understand where Rodriguez is coming from and hope the Fast executives and filmmakers take her critiques into consideration so we get to see the women of Fast and Furious continue to kick ass!
