The 'Fast & Furious' saga is a constantly evolving behemoth. Over the years, it has morphed from a franchise about illegal road-racing to telling stories about espionage and globetrotting action (with many a car chase thrown in for good measure and nostalgia's sake, of course). It's not only the plots that have changed over the course of the saga, however, the meticulously detailed style of their action scenes has altered over the years, too. Every instalment seems to ramp up the action one gear more and 'Fast & Furious 9' does not seem set to disappoint.
The cast of 'Fast & Furious 9' took to MTV International to tease us about these upcoming feats of acrobatics, emphasising just how incredible the level of action they're able to shoot in the film is. "Let's just say that you're going to question a lot in this movie when it comes to physics", laughed Michelle Rodriguez, who takes on the role of Letty in the film. In the first trailer, Letty can be seen losing control of her motorcycle in a collision with another car before flying through the air and landing safely on the hood of Vin Diesel's vehicle.
Vin Diesel expanded on what sort of equipment is required for this type of scene. "For some stunts they basically put the car at the end of an apparatus and spin you around and make you throw up. It's one of the tool's that's needed to do some of the crazier stunts". Rodriguez also explained how other resources are used for the more dangerous sequences: "Most of it is special effects these days and stunt doubles because of insurance, but the fighting sequences are always my favourite". When Diesel was asked about how many scenes are performed by the stunt doubles in comparison to the actors, he laughed and joked: "It's all me! And unless you were there on set, you will never know".
Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster share the screen in the trailer as they unite to fight against a team of armed men. At the end of the sequence, Letty tackles a man through a glass window. "What I loved about the scene that we have is that it was all practical stuff. Justin (Lin) very specifically wanted to not make it very special effects heavy, so it was really rough and fun, rough and tumble, down and dirty...I love it", said Brewster.
Another actress bringing life to a member of Dom Toretto's formidable team is Nathalie Emmanuel who, like Diesel, describes the apparatus used to shoot the action scenes. "It's a giant robot, basically, that's been programmed to do certain movements and go up and down. Depending on how aggressive the stunt is, you can get thrown around quite a bit, so we have a really amazing and supportive stunt team who make sure that our necks are warm and that our bodies are warm and, if we're feeling any pain, that we've got padding and things like that".
The latest addition to the saga, John Cena, who's set to play Dom's intimidating brother, Jakob Toretto, says that it's the franchise's ability to create these action scenes that makes it so unique: "They find a way to make the impossible possible. They do it in every single movie and they raise the bar in every single movie".
'Fast 10': Here Come the Girls?
When it comes to thinking about the future and what they'd like to see come next for their characters, new cast member John Cena has some ideas for the franchise - namely that he'd like to stay in it. "I would be in it! I would be grateful for a place at the table. I hope 'Fast 9' is a tremendous success, I hope we get to do it again. And by we, I mean me. I'm not putting any spoilers out there, I'm just putting my thoughts out into the universe because then maybe they will actually become reality. Maybe John Cena could be in 'Fast 10'. Maybe Justin could direct it. I don't know".
Vin Diesel was quick to remind fans that the script for a female spin-off of 'Fast & Furious' will arrive on his desk next month. Michelle Rodriguez would love to see all of the women in the franchise be a part of it: "We'll see what Charlize (Theron) is doing. We'll be like, can we talk you into being a good girl? She's so bad in this one! She's so mean! I love her, though". Emmanuel agreed that she'd love to see some women kicking butt on screen and drew a parallel to another beloved female-fronted franchise: "It would be cool to have a 'Charlie's Angels' type vibe. I think that's kind of fun".
