The new Fast & Furious X trailer gives fans their first look at the beginning of the “end of the road” for the franchise. The latest sequel brings back all our favorite survivors, from Vin Diesel’s intrepid Dom Toretto to Sung Kang’s endearing Han Lue. But, as befits the tenth main installment in this long series, there are a few new faces.
Who are these new characters? What relationship does Jason Momoa’s villain have with the events of Fast & Furious 5? Is Brie Larson’s Tess friend or foe? And who does Rita Moreno play? Let’s break down all the new additions to Dom’s ever-growing family.
Jason Momoa as Dante
Jason Momoa, the star of Aquaman, is undoubtedly the biggest addition to the cast this time. Unsurprisingly, Momoa plays the latest villain to threaten the Toretto clan. He’s also not surprised that he’s a character closely linked to another villain in the series. In this universe, everything revolves around family.
Momoa’s character is called Dante and He is the son of Hernán Reyes, Joaquim de Almeida’s character in Fast & Furious 5. As the trailer reminds us, Dom and Brian stole Reyes’ money by driving a bank vault through the streets of Rio de Janeiro (causing what we can only imagine were hundreds of millions of dollars in damages). That act stripped Dante of both his and his father’s family fortune, and it appears that he has been plotting against Dom ever since.
“He’s very sadistic and androgynous and he’s a bit of a peacock,” Momoa told Variety. “He has a lot of problems. He definitely has problems with his father.”
It can be assumed that is in cahoots with Cipher, the villainous hacker played by Charlize Theron, as we also see her briefly in the trailer. Though director Louis Leterrier hinted that Cipher may have finally found a partner too strong for her.
“It’s bad news, but one is scarier than the other,” Leterrier told Empire Online. “One is worse news than the other.”
Fast & Furious X will see how Dante’s plans come to fruition. She doesn’t want to kill Dom, but to make him suffer in the same way that Dante has suffered for the past 12 years. Given the sinister setting of the trailer and the fact that the series is fast approaching its end, it’s highly likely that at least one of our heroes will be up against Dante. After all, we need a good cliffhanger to lead us to Fast & Furious 11.
Brie Larson as Tess
Brie Larson also debuts as Tess, a character who works for the Agency (that top-secret CIA analog run by Kurt Russell’s Mr. Nobody). Universal’s official description calls her a “rogue Agency representative.” From what we see in the trailer, Tess seems determined to help Dom and her family fight against Dante, even if it does put her at odds with her teammates and her new boss.
Alan Ritchson as Agent Rimes
Speaking of new bosses, Fast & Furious X features Alan Ritchson as agent Rimes, the new head of the Agency. As we saw in Fast & Furious 9, it appears that Mr. Nobody was killed in combat when Cipher’s plane was hijacked. We’re not sure Nobody is really dead (there have been characters in this series who have recovered from much worse things), but it seems like he’s out of the picture for now.
Instead, Rimes is taking over the Agency and transforming it into a more militant group that likes less working with former thieves and street racers. In fact, looks like Rimes and his team will arrest Dom’s team at some point from Fast & Furious X. Whether he’s working with Dante or just being a useful distraction, he’s going to make things a whole lot more difficult for the Toretto clan this time around.
Rita Moreno as Grandma Toretto
Little by little we are getting to know the other members of the Toretto family. Fast & Furious 9 featured John Cena as Jakob, Dom’s estranged brother, and JD Pardo as the late Jack Toretto. Now we will meet the matriarch of the family in Fast & Furious X.
Rita Moreno plays the grandmother of Dom, Mia and Jakob. Apparently, she’ll be stopping by for a family barbecue and giving some grandma advice. But we will have to wait to find out if she will have a bigger role in the conflict.
We have to wonder where this character has been for the previous nine movies. Why haven’t we met Grandma before? And for that matter, why haven’t we heard a word about Dom’s mom yet? There may be some family secrets left to uncover before the saga comes to an end.
Daniela Melchior as a mysterious character
Daniela Melchior, from Suicide Squad, is the latest addition to the cast of Fast & Furious X, although at the moment we don’t know much about his character. Universal hasn’t even revealed his name yet. Melchior plays a Brazilian street racer who has some sort of connection to Dom’s past (probably going back to the days when he was an international fugitive).
The fact that we don’t know his name suggests it could be a big spoiler. Is he related to any of the Fast & Furious characters? Could she be her even her Dom’s long lost daughter? There is always room for another branch in this family tree.
To find out more about the Fast & Furious franchise, find out how to watch the entire saga in order (both chronologically and by release), and take a look at all the movies we’re looking forward to seeing in 2023.