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Fast X Director Teases Future Of Jason Momoa’s Flamboyant Villain: “Dante Will Truly Evolve"
If you thought Dante couldn't get any worse, then you ain't seen nothing yet!
If you thought Dante Reyes was a nasty piece of work in Fast X, then you ain't seen nothing yet, folks!
Director Louis Leterrier teased new layers of evil to the colorful, sadistic, and scene-stealing villain played with flamboyant panache by Jason Momoa. "It's never twice the same with Jason," he told Empire for the magazine's October 2023 issue. "Dante will truly evolve. Let's explore something we haven't seen before."
RELATED: Why Fast X Director Scaled Back (Some of) Jason Momoa's Gonzo Performance As Dante Reyes
Dante will have plenty of time to let his freak flag fly in the eleventh Fast & Furious movie (currently slated for a spring 2025 release date) and he'll probably turn up in the confirmed Hobbs spinoff, too.
How Jason Momoa's Fast X villain is the "Bizarro Dom Toretto"
The goal with Dante, Leterrier explained, was to create the "Bizarro" version of Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto. "Dom drives a car, you ride a motorcycle. Dom has a shaved head, you have long hair. Dom is a man of few words, you love the sound of your voice."
And where Dom seethes at the prospect of losing a fight, Dante revels in the pain of getting his ass kicked, "because he wants to," the director added. "He lets Dom punch him out. He fights as well as Dom, but he's twisted. If you look deeply into his psyche, he's lonely. He's fun and flamboyant, but he's alone. He's created his own world in his head. He's not on the same plane of reality that we are."
Several character quirks were thought up on the fly. "In that Brazil scene, he walked on set, saw the palm trees and said, 'I want to be a palm tree.' And he put his his hair in a bun like a palm tree. Our goal was to make each other laugh. If we were able to make each other crack up, we thought, 'Okay, the audience will laugh.'"
At the same time, they didn't want the blockbuster to devolve into an all-out comedy. Dante's amusing moments are meant to represent "the push-pull within the character, where within the same sentence he's laughing and feels the pain of losing everything," Leterrier said.
When will Fast 11 and the Hobbs spinoff be released?
As of this writing, Fast 11 is slated to hit theaters everywhere on April 4, 2025.
It may, however, be pushed as a result of the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. It's unclear if the script for F11 has been written yet, though we do know that Christina Hodson (The Flash) and Oren Uziel (The Cloverfield Paradox) are to share final credit. While we sincerely hope for a swift resolution to both Hollywood logjams, with fair deals given to both writers and actors, the silver lining — at least for Leterrier — is that there's more time to hone the overall vision in pre-production.
Then there's the matter of the Hobbs project, which is meant to bridge the narrative gap between Fast X and Fast 11. With no writer, director, or release date announced for that, we can only assume a delay announcement is imminent.
How to watch Fast X
Fast X is currently available to rent and/or purchase on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital. All versions contain a plethora of bonus features, including a gag reel, director's commentary, and music videos. The film is also streaming now on Peacock. Peacock currently offers two monthly subscription plans: Premium ($5.99 a month with ads) and Premium Plus ($11.99 a month with no ads and download access for certain titles). If you're a student, you can enjoy the Premium plan for just $1.99 for an entire year.
Want more theatrical action? Head on over to Peacock for exclusive access to recent releases like Renfield, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Asteroid City.
