Louis Leterrier is a well-known director who has worked in hit films like The Transporter, The Incredible Hulk, Clash of the Titans, and many more. Leterrier will soon be seen as the director of the most awaited tenth installment of the Fast & Furious series titled Fast X. The Incredible Hulk director revealed in a recent interview about his end moment entry in the hit franchise and gave a sneak peek into the upcoming movie which will star Vin Diesel reprising his role of Dominic Toretto while the new movie will introduce Jason Momoa as “Anti-Dom”.
Louis Leterrier’s Late Entry in Fast X
It is pretty well known that the tenth installment of Fast & Furious was going to be directed by Justin Lin who in the past has directed five different movies in the Fast & Furious franchise with the latest one being F9 which was released on June 25, 2021, and was a commercial hit. Louis Leterrier shared how he was contacted at the last moment when Lin backed off as a director. Louis Leterrier revealed that he didn’t take the call seriously at first but soon realized that the opportunity to work in his favorite franchise is real.
“It was quite fast. I mean, literally, they had shot a day and were on hold. I got a call from the heads of Universal saying, ‘can you call us back?’ I thought it was a butt dial. I was like, I’ll call you tomorrow. He was like, ‘no, call us now, this is not a mistake. Can you read a script by 5:00 am?’I read the script, and the script was incredible. It was Justin’s script, and it was wonderful. Without knowing too much about it, I instantly said yes. It’s been a franchise I’ve admired for years, a franchise I’ve flirted with—almost directing other episodes before, and I thought I was primed and ready—I thought.”
Louis Leterrier revealed that the process of onboarding him in the series may be short yet it was not easy. The responsibility to carry the legacy of decades-old hit film series is surely stressful. The Takedown revealed that he soon realized the pressure of being a part of a blockbuster franchise and even thought of quitting at once but was cheered by his wife and continued working on the movie.
“The Fast & Furious franchise is not just one storyline, it’s 10 storylines that you have to weave and balance and do all that stuff. I had a moment of panic. And my wife saw my face. I was literally white as a sheet. She asked, ‘what, are you hesitating? No! You’ve been dreaming of this! Go do it!’ I then had these meetings, and it went really well, and three days later, I was on a plane, and landed, and from that first phone call till my first day calling action was maybe a four-day period.”
Louis Leterrier on Jason Momoa’s Character
Jason Momoa has impressed fans with his brilliant acting in Game of Thrones and Aquaman. Momoa’s entry into the Fast & Furious franchise surely excited the fans. Leterrier shared crucial information about the Aquaman star’s character in Fast X. Louis Leterrier revealed that Momoa will be seen as a major antagonist in the upcoming film where his character wishes to destroy the life of Vin Diesel‘s character Dominic Toretto. Momoa’s character is named Dante Reyes who is the son of drug kingpin Hernan Reyes and is seeking revenge against Dom and his crew for his father’s death in the 2011 movie, Fast Five.
“Yeah, he( Jason Momoa) is a different type of a villain not only for the franchise. He’s the type of antagonist that I’ve rarely seen before in any movie. He’s the man who has studied his enemy almost like an obsessed fan. He’s also the polar opposite of Dom. He’s all color and flamboyance. It’s the yin and yang, the christ and the anti-christ—the anti-Dom. On set, it felt this way. The Vin’s energy was calm and collected, almost zen-like, and Jason was just like rock & roll, an electric bass that’s slapping. There was always music coming out of the Jason camp.”
Louis Leterrier talked about the importance of cars in the entire blockbuster franchise as he explained how he tried his best to incorporate the key elements of the car with the new antagonist. The Incredible Hulk director continued as he stressed how Momoa’s character closely studies Dominic Toretto to take his revenge.
“What was really important for me was to bring it back to the car. This franchise is all about cars, but we hadn’t seen a driver antagonist for a long time. He’s a driver—he grew up driving, being obsessed with Dom Toretto, and tried to become him. He’s a gearhead just like Dom Toretto, but a very different type of gearhead. They are also polar opposites in their driving styles. The person that keeps their hand on the wheel and the person that lets go. That’s very interesting to me, and it’s the theme of the entire movie and the entities that oppose them.”
Louis Leterrier looked pretty excited and optimistic about his hard work. Fans across the globe are eagerly waiting for the tenth installment of the blockbuster franchise. Fast X will be released on May 19, 2023.
Source: Esquireme
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