Michelle Rodriguez: Fast & Furious Has 'Lost Its Soul' After Paul Walker Death
Michelle Rodriguez has said that the ‘Fast & Furious’ series has ‘lost its soul’ following the death of Paul Walker.
“Y’know, Paul’s the heart of it. He’s the guy who really loved the genre, loved that lifestyle,” she told People magazine.
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“And not having love affair with cars and with that lifestyle [like Paul did], it removes a certain aspect of the soul of the franchise. And it hurts all of us and we all know it.”
Walker died in a car crash in November, 2013, during a break in filming ‘Fast & Furious 7’.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, has played the role of Letty in five of the ‘Fast & Furious’ movies so far, with the eighth having wrapped over the summer.
She added that there are other factors at play in keeping the series going.
“We’re living in a realm where there aren’t any franchises outside of hero movies and sci-fi that actually address the lack of multiculturalism at that scale.
“You don’t see a $150m-budgeted film with a Latin person, a black person and an Asian person.
“If we’re not willing to do it for ourselves, and we’re not just willing to do it for the money, then we need another reason. And [multiculturalism is] our reason.
“It’s that we’re filling a gap in the market that no one else is filling. So it keeps us going. It keeps the whole franchise alive.”
After the eighth movie in the series, due out next year, there will be at least two more, bringing the total to 10.
Joining the crew for the ‘Fast & Furious 8’ will be Charlize Theron, playing the new antagonist to Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto, and Helen Mirren.
It’s due out in April, 2017.
Image credits: Universal
