‘Fast X’: Michelle Rodriguez Calls Jason Momoa the Best Male Villain of the Franchise

There are loads of reasons the Fast and Furious series has gone on to become one of the biggest film franchises in history, but a big one is that stellar ever-growing ensemble. Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster may not have been household names back in 2001, but after the release of that first film and their big return to the franchise in the fourth installment, 2009’s Fast & Furious, their stars soared and the Fast franchise started to attract some of the biggest names in the business.

Fast Five gave us Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs. Jason Statham stepped in full force in Fast & Furious 6 as Deckard Shaw. Furious 7 added Kurt Russell. We got more Hollywood royalty in The Fate of the Furious when Helen Mirren joined the cast as Magdalene Shaw and Charlize Theron stepped in as Cipher. F9 introduced John Cena’s Jakob Toretto, and now in Fast X, we’re also getting Alan Ritchson, Brie Larson, and Rita Moreno.

Oh, did I miss a key new addition there? As the ensemble of Fast heroes grows and grows, it must become more and more challenging for the filmmakers to find a villainous force to match them. Can anyone really best Dom, Letty, Mia, Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), Han (Sung Kang), Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), and whoever else winds up fighting for Family? There aren’t many actors out there who can inspire such confidence without seeing the finished film, but Jason Momoa is indeed one of them.

Momoa joins the Fast X cast as the film’s big bad, Dante Reyes. Turns out, Dante is actually the son of Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida), the corrupt politician and drug lord killed in Fast Five. Twelve years later, Dante wants revenge.

What exactly can we expect from Momoa’s Dante in Fast X? What will he bring to the franchise that makes him a standout new addition to an always-stacked cast? Michelle Rodriguez offered up a pretty exciting tease during an episode of Collider Ladies Night in celebration of the release of Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Here’s what she said:

“Revenge with a smirk. It sounds light, but when you see [the movie], you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. I’d say he’s the best male villain we’ve had in the entire franchise, of course because Charlize kills it. You know what I mean? She’s a whole other different type of monster, no pun intended.”

Is there a chance “the best male villain” and Theron’s “different type of monster” will join forces in Fast X? There’s been no confirmation on the matter, but given Cipher is indeed in the new movie, there’s a chance we could have quite the villain team-up to carry us through the Fast X, and maybe even the eleventh film of the franchise as well.

Want to hear Rodriguez’s enthusiasm for Momoa’s villain for yourself? Be sure to check out the Fast X clip from Collider Ladies Night at the top of this article, and stay tuned for the full conversation dropping closer to Dungeon and Dragons’ March 31st release.

Fast X is set to hit theaters on May 19th.

The post ‘Fast X’: Michelle Rodriguez Calls Jason Momoa the Best Male Villain of the Franchisea was originally published on COLLIDER.