The Fast X Cast Was Stunned By The Sequel's Major Cameo Appearances
This post contains major spoilers for "Fast X."
The Fast Saga has always played loose with continuity. Perhaps more than any other modern franchise, "Fast & Furious" knows that continuity is not nearly as important as the rule of cool. Characters can come back from the dead at any time, events from the past are recontextualized on the regular to reveal new information only relevant now. Nothing is off limits, everything can change, and mistakes or irregularities don't matter as long as the now is cool and exciting.
In typical fashion for the franchise, "Fast X" brings back people we thought were dead — physically or metaphorically. Near the end of the movie, we see none other than Gal Gadot's Gisele, back from the dead, and apparently working for Cipher on her submarine. Then there's the actual credits scene, which arguably pulls off the biggest magic trick the franchise has done in years — bringing back Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, the cast of "Fast X" opened up about the decision to bring back both stars to the franchise. Vin Diesel revealed, "The conversations have been going on for a while. [...] The conversations are what makes the best movie? What feels right for a franchise? How do you make as many people happy in this world? And both of them clearly make people happy. Underscore that with this running theme of unity that prevails in the 'Fast & Furious' saga, and it's a match made in heaven."
Michelle Rodriguez joked that she was "laughing [her] butt off" when she heard of Johnson and Gadot's return to the franchise. "I was like, 'Ha, ha, you try getting away with something like that in your franchise!' It's crazy what we get away with."
A family reunited
These two characters returning are exciting and interesting for very different reasons. Gal Gadot's Gisele, of course, died a tragic death, but while Dwayne Johnson's Hobbs is still alive in the Fast universe, Johnson had a very public beef with Vin Diesel. Things got so heated that Vin Diesel reportedly cut a credits scene teasing "Hobbs & Shaw" from "The Fate of the Furious." But it seems Louis Leterrier (and possibly the failure of "Black Adam") was stronger than any feud.
As for Gadot's return, it is a bit surprising to learn that this plot point has been in the "works for a while, even a couple of movies in," at least according to Michelle Rodriguez. "And there's even footage shot already so it didn't surprise me as much as Dwayne coming back. That was like really cool," she added.
Gisele's death was rather meaningful for the Fast Saga. It was the first major death in the family, as she sacrificed herself to save Han (Sung Kang) during the incredibly long runway chase in "Fast & Furious 6" — a movie with one of the greatest lines of dialogue in cinema. Given that Han also came back from the dead (in F9), their fateful reunion is already one of the most anticipated moments in "Fast 11" / "Fast X: Part 2" or whatever it ends up being called.