In Fast X, Jason Momoa plays a villain more unhinged than any antagonist we’ve seen in the Fast & Furious franchise. He’s out for revenge against Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto and his found family, but he’s a sadist who craves suffering more than straight assassination, and he goes to some crazy lengths in order to get it. As you can probably surmise, Momoa gives a wild performance as Dante Reyes – but it turns out that what we see in the final cut of the film may not actually be the most extreme version of the character.
As of this past Friday (when I interviewed him as part of a virtual roundtable), Jason Momoa hadn’t had the opportunity to see Fast X, but he revealed during the conversation that there are versions of scenes he filmed where he went way over the top. I asked him if there were degrees to his performance as Dante Reyes and if he modulated his wildness from take to take, and the actor not only confirmed that this was the case, but he is evidently hoping that the movie doesn’t feature him at his peak insanity. Said Momoa,
I think they probably put out the safe takes to tell you the truth. I haven't seen it yet, but I would probably encourage them to use the safer takes. So if there was a one to 10, I think we'd probably be seeing the four of everything.
It may not be Jason Momoa’s preference for how the film is cut together, but I have to say that I very much want to see a cut of Fast X that features Dante Reyes at a full 10 in every scene. It may not be good, but it sure would be fascinating. In the version that is heading to theaters, the character is perfect levels of ridiculous already, so I very much want to see how much further Momoa was able to push it.
A flamboyant, pastel-colored nightmare in the movie, the actor’s performance has already earned high praise in early reactions to Fast X, and it’s easy to imagine that audiences will end up appreciating the work when the film hits theaters. Jason Momoa is counting on it, as he has plans to go even crazier with Dante Reyes in Fast & Furious 11. He continued,
I go pretty out there and a lot of stuff, and so I think it's a safe bet: I think after we see everyone enjoy this character, I'm hoping in two they let me go even more and we get to see his true... The way I want it, you know, truly how Dante is. We'll see.
Fast X, with a spectacular cast that includes Michelle Rodriguez, Brie Larson, John Cena, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Charlize Theron, and many more, arrives in theaters everywhere this Friday, May 19. While you wait, you can learn how to revisit the 10 previous films in the franchise with our Fast & Furious streaming guide and learn how to watch all the movies in chronological order with our Fast & Furious timeline.
