Fast X Features A Cameo That No One Will Expect (No, Not That One)
Louis Leterrier's new film "Fast X," the eleventh film in the "Fast and Furious" saga, may not have been spoiled yet for you, dear reader. Although you may have heard that the film features at least one — possibly more — cameo from known "Furious" characters, there's actually an appearance from someone you likely aren't expecting at all.
Yes, this is a post about a one-off comedian cameo that will likely stay safely within the walls of the film in which he appears. A star of "Bodies Bodies Bodies" and "Saturday Night Live" makes a brief appearance in one scene of "Fast X" as a drug-adjacent, fast-talking varlet that some of our heroes encounter. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Pete Davidson.
Davidson's character is a former associate of Ramsey (Mathalie Emmanuel), the stalwart computer hacker. Because of a massive disaster at the head of the film, Ramsey, Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), and Han (Sung Kang) have to go on the lam. Since the film's many villains have access to advanced location-tracking technology, our heroes have to stay off the grid as much as possible. Luckily, Roman thinks to travel with a huge amount of cash. It also helps that Ramsey knows Bowie (Davidson), a shiftless criminal who operates out of a dated, low-tech internet cafe. The cafe is so low-tech, in fact, that the analog equipment can't be traced. He'll do favors for a price.
Bowie also sells cupcakes laced with an unnamed but mild hallucinogen (Han eats one and seems a little out of it for about 60 seconds), and will witness a friendly-ish brawl between Roman and Tej. After our heroes get what they want, they leave Bowie behind. He won't be in the rest of the movie, but it seems like Pete Davidson will keep popping up all over the place otherwise.
Pete Davidson is everywhere
The "Furious" series has done this with comedians and celebrities before. Recall that Kevin Hart and Ryan Reynolds appeared in "Hobbs & Shaw," while Cardi B (!) showed up briefly in "F9."
Pete Davison, seems to be everywhere these days. When he's not appearing in cameos in large-scale Hollywood blockbusters, he's usually seen on the covers of supermarket tabloids, romancing one of the world's bigger celebrities (Davidson has famously been entangled with Ariana Grande, Kate Beckinsale, Margaret Qualley, Phoebe Dynevor, and Kim Kardashian).
Davidson's film career has incorporated several cameos and smaller supporting roles, starting with small bits in Judd Apatow's "Trainwreck" and in Adam Shankman's 2019 film "What Men Want." He had a small part in James Gunn's "The Suicide Squad" (his character didn't live long), and he had a smaller part in the romantic comedy "I Want You Back." In the excellent murder comedy "Bodies Bodies Bodies," he was the mysterious death that the other characters spend the film investigating. His only lead roles to date have been as a version of himself in "The King of Staten Island" and as the title character in the animated film "Marmaduke," not to mention his recent Peacock series "Bupkis."
In 2023, Davidson racked up his two highest-profile cameos to date. Not only did he appear as Bowie in "Fast X," but he showed up wearing an alien mask in Gunn's latest chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3." He played a character named Phlektik, a character not ported over from Marvel Comics.
Phlektik
Some fans had caught wind that Davidson was to appear in "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3," and many kept a sharp eye out for anyone that might look or sound like him. Some suspected that Davidson provided the voice for Lambshank, a strange mutant humanoid animal monster that the Guardians rescue from the High Evolutionary's lad during the film's climax. As confirmed on Gunn's Twitter account, the director himself played the voice of Lambshank, but Davidson appeared as a gun-toting alien being. The actor was wearing a mask, so one might not spot him. Photographs confirm that Davidson was on set with the other actors, and he did indeed wear a physical costume.
Between "Guardians" and "Fast X," Davidson may be poised to appear in two of the highest-grossing films of the year. Although Vin Diesel already holds that honor as well, appearing in "Guardians" as the talking tree being known as Groot. Additionally, John Cena appears in "Fast X," and is slated to appear in "Barbie," while "Fast X" actress Brie Larson is also set to star in "The Marvels," another upcoming chapter in the MCU. It seems that when it comes to "Fast X," Universal has assembled the highest-profile cast imaginable.
"Fast X" ends with a cliffhanger, and a sequel (or two) is currently in production. It is not known if Bowie will return. Perhaps he'll explain exactly what was in those cupcakes.