Vin Diesel And Jason Momoa Fight Fast X Feud Rumors With The Power Of Love
Is Universal even allowed to make "Fast & Furious" movies anymore without just as much chaos transpiring behind the scenes as vehicular mayhem in the films themselves? Last month's "Fast X" had already seen its fair share of its off-screen Drama™ thanks to original director Justin Lin dropping out partway into production after (allegedly!) butting heads with producer and star Vin Diesel. Then, more recently, rumors emerged that the Fast Fam's gravelly-voiced patriarch isn't happy about his "Fast X" co-star Jason Momoa yukking it up as the sequel's main baddie, Dante Reyes.
Dante, for those not in the know, is the son of late Brazillian drug lord and "Fast Five" antagonist, Hernan Reyes. He could've easily been another forgettable one-and-done vengeful villain out to get Dominic Toretto (Diesel) and his Fast "fambly." Instead, Moma plays the character as a cross between Bugs Bunny — complete with his flamboyant, queer-coded tendencies — and Heath Ledger's Joker. He is absolutely the primary reason to watch "Fast X," and the clips of him rolling giant metallic bomb balls around Rome or painting his dead victims' toenails have unsurprisingly gone viral on social media since the film premiered on digital.
Radar Online, however, claims sources have told them Diesel is "embarrassed" about Momoa "stealing his thunder in the franchise he built himself," with "Fast X" reviews declaring him the film's true standout. Diesel has also supposedly been telling people Momoa's "overacting" and "scene-stealing" hurt the movie. The former is known for taking the (increasingly nonsensical) Fast Saga dead-serious and has exerted greater creative control with each passing sequel, so none of this immediately reads as implausible.
If there really is trouble in paradise, though, Diesel and Momoa are doing their parts to hide it.
'All aloha best times'
You know what they say: make "Fast" love, not "Fast" war. Er, moving on...
In a post on his Instagram, Vin Diesel heaped praise on Jason Momoa, writing, "I love how expressive and collaborative all of the actors in our franchise feel coming into the World's Saga. Jason wanted to try something totally unique and special and ended up creating a scene-stealing character that the world won't forget." His use of the term "scene-stealing," in particular, suggests this is Diesel's not-so-subtle way of trying to shut down the scuttlebutt about him trash-talking Momoa. The "Aquaman" star responded in kind to Diesel's post, commenting, "all aloha ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ best times. mahalo for taking a chance with me boss man."
Is this all a show to take advantage of the buzz around Momoa's performance, what with "Fast X" performing weaker than previous "Fast & Furious" movies at the box office against a (reported) whopping $340 million price tag? Diesel certainly didn't hesitate to throw shade at Dwayne Johnson during their own much-publicized Fast Feud starting on "The Fate of the Furious" a few years back. Either way, if he truly is upset about Momoa's acting in the film (which, to be clear, he really shouldn't be), he's not voicing his feelings in public for the time being.
As you probably noticed, Diesel also used his Instagram update to confirm that the supposed "Fast & Furious" finale, "Fast X Part Deux" (not the official title, although I want it to be), remains set to open in theaters on April 4, 2025. Between that and one final (?) Johnson-led standalone "Fast" film on the way, can the Fast Saga make it across the finish line without another rumble in the jungle? Probably time for a last-minute injection of NOS, just to be safe.