Michelle Rodriguez Will Return for Fast and Furious 9 After Studio Hires Female Writer
Letty is back once again.
Michelle Rodriguez revealed in a talk at the Bloomberg Equality Summit in London on Thursday that she would be reprising her character in the upcoming 9th Fast and Furious movie after previously throwing her participation into question.
Rodriguez, 40, threatened to walk away from the franchise in June 2017, calling for a female writer to work on the next film “or I just might have to say goodbye,” she wrote on Instagram.
But at the talk, Rodriguez revealed that Universal Pictures agreed with her and hired a female writer. The studio’s decision resulted in Rodriguez signing on for the next one.
“Yeah, I’m gonna do 9,” Rodriguez confirmed. “Donna [Langley, Chairman of Universal Pictures] came on board, the woman came on board at the studio, and agreed to have that female voice on board so the guys aren’t basically interpreting that female voice on paper. ‘Cause it’s annoying, I rewrite all my stuff! I’m tired of being a writer and an actress, you know? It’s kind go cool that I had that freedom, but it’s frivolous.”
Rodriguez went more in depth in her call for a female writer, pointing out that in the 16 years she’s been a part of the franchise, she’s rarely had scenes with the few other women. Gal Gadot, Elsa Pataky, Jordana Brewster, Charlize Theron and Nathalie Emmanuel have been some of the actresses to take on the female roles over the franchise, though not all in the same film.
“I felt like there wasn’t enough of a female voice in the franchise. I can count with two hands how many times I spoke to my female colleagues,” she explained. “Like Jordana, who played the sister. I’ve been in the franchise for 16 years, and I can count on both hands how many times we’ve actually had a conversation on screen, and I thought that was pathetic. And I said if I’m coming back, I really want there to be a female writer to give it a female voice, and finally they showed me some love.”
A post shared by Michelle Rodriguez (@mrodofficial) on Jun 27, 2017 at 8:43am PDT
Rodriguez made the threat to leave the franchise in June 2017, when The Fate of the Furious made its digital debut.
“I hope they decide to show some love to the women of the franchise on the next one. Or I just might have to say goodbye to a loved franchise. It’s been a good ride & Im grateful for the opportunity the fans & studio have provided over the years… One Love,” Rodriguez wrote in her Instagram post, which featured a collage of pictures of her on the 8th movie’s set.
The next Fast and Furious movie to hit screens is Hobbs & Shaw, a spinoff focusing on Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham’s characters.
