Jason Momoa Relishes Finally Getting To Play A Villain In Fast X
Nobody excels at playing chill dude-bros who can also kill you with their pinkie quite like Jason Momoa. It's an archetype the former "Baywatch" actor has steadily refined so as to better fit his talents over the course of his career, starting with his breakout role on "Stargate: Atlantis" and going on to his time playing Arthur Curry in the DC Extended Universe. With "Fast X," however, Momoa will finally get the chance to portray a full-on villain, as opposed to a giant cinnamon roll who happens to be really good at murder.
Okay, so that's not entirely accurate. If you've ever indulged in the junk food cinema that is director Walter Hill's 2013 action-thriller "Bullet to the Head," then you know Momoa has played something of an antagonist before (his character is a hitman in a world full of hitmen and dirty cops, so good and bad are fuzzy concepts in the film). One could also point to his role as the werewolf Connor Slaughter — yes, that's his real name, and it is wonderful — in director David Hayter's 2014 action-horror movie "Wolves" as being more "evil" than "good" on the alignment chart.
That said, there are baddies, and then there are the baddies in the "Fast & Furious" films, many of whom have undergone redemption arcs in the time since their debut (some far shakier than others). But whatever the future holds for Momoa's character, the actor has assured he's decidedly bad news for Dominic Toretto and his (Fast) family when "Fast X" begins.
'He's got a lot of issues, this guy'
Families (be they the ones you make or the ones you're born with) and the concept of brotherhood have long been a thematic staple of the "Fast & Furious" movies, going back to "The Fast and the Furious" in 2001. Starting with "Fast Five" in 2011, however, fatherhood has evolved into a core motif of the series, be it with characters like Dom or Brian O'Connor becoming dads or Dom going head-to-head with his forsaken sibling Jakob over his role in the death of their father in "F9: The Fast Saga."
Speaking to Variety, Momoa confirmed "daddy issues" will likewise be a major part of his mysterious villain in "Fast X." He also admitted to relishing the role, having mostly played the hero in his recent movies and TV shows (if, again, the kind that tends to kill a whole lot of people):
"Time of my life. I get to be the bad guy finally. I've been the good guy for a while. He's very sadistic and androgynous and he's a bit of a peacock... He's got a lot of issues, this guy. He's definitely got some daddy issues."
Is Momoa's comment hinting at his "Fast X" villain being yet another estranged member of the Toretto family who's never been mentioned before (à la Jakob)? That might be pushing it a little, even for the big-budget soap opera that is "The Fast Saga." Then again, with "Fast X" serving as the second-to-last chapter in a franchise that's already gone to space, all bets are off at this stage. Frankly, I wouldn't even rule out the theory Momoa is playing Dom's grown-up son, who's traveled back in time from the future to cause chaos.
"Fast X" opens in theaters on May 19, 2023.