Vin Diesel’s Co-Star Was Afraid To Work With Him
A star on F9 says she was afraid to work with Vin Diesel prior to filming on the Fast & Furious franchise. But it all worked out in the end.
Cardi B is not just a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning songstress. In 2017 the rapper branched out into acting with a few television and big-screen roles. Most recently she took on a surprise cameo role in F9 – Vin Diesel’s latest offering in the Fast franchise. But the project did present a few challenges for the singer at first.
In a People behind the scenes, exclusive look at the director’s cut for F9, Cardi B revealed that although she felt “gangster” while playing Leysa she was also nervous about starring alongside Vin Diesel. “You know Vin Diesel, he always plays this very serious guy,” she told the publication. “I was scared, but he’s so nice, so dope, he makes you feel so comfortable, that’s pretty cool.”
Fortunately, her nervousness was short-lived and in a sweet moment after filming wrapped, Vin Diesel said he was really proud of the actress. Now that she’s received Diesel’s stamp of approval, Cardi B is set to reprise her role in the next installment of the franchise. “We are very much excited to evolve her character and to expand it to the finale,” Vin Diesel told Entertainment Tonight at the premiere for F9. “She made it just in time.”
Since its debut in 2001, the Fast and Furious franchise has made $6.3 billion worldwide. That figure includes 2019’s spinoff, Hobbs & Shaw. And F9, the most recent installment of the core franchise, earned an impressive $681 million at the global box office despite the Covid-19 restrictions on the theatrical business.
The 10th installment of Vin Diesel’s Fast and Furious franchise is set to race into theaters on April 7, 2023. Justin Lin will direct the penultimate movie in the popular action series and will return for the final installment as well. Lin has directed five Fast films starting with 2006’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. And Chris Morgan is returning to write the script.
Vin Diesel previously revealed to Entertainment Weekly that filming would begin in January 2022, with the possibility of Fast 10 and Fast 11 being filmed back-to-back to wrap up the pop culture phenomenon. Diesel also implied that the finals two films would be epic. “Just wait for 10,” the actor said, “Let’s just say, the fact that you guys know that the studio is saying we can’t cover all this ground that needs to be covered in just one movie, you can only imagine what is to come.”
Although the cast has not been officially revealed yet, franchise star Vin Diesel is expected to return along with Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Chris Bridges, Jordana Brewster, and Michelle Rodriguez. According to the publication, it’s unclear if John Cena will reprise his role as Jakob Toretto. Ahead of F9’s release, the Suicide Squad star said he wasn’t allowing himself to think about the future of his character. Meanwhile, fans can catch Vin Diesel and the rest of his crew in F9 which was released digitally on September 7th.
