Either Dom or Letty is going to shuffle off this mortal coil.
With Fast X opening in theaters on 19 May, the teasers are coming in fast and furious. Two weeks ago, the studio released a trailer with a bit more insight into the plot. The first trailer for the beginning of the final chapter in the Fast franchise first aired in February.
The latest trailer is called Open Road, and it's not your typical F&F trailer. For example, there are only two explosions. It verges on being philosophical, talking about the allure of the open road and such, but it soon becomes clear that the focus of the trailer is the relationship between Dom and Letty.
Dom (Vin Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) have been an item since the first installment, apart from the time she died in Fast & Furious. We're referring to the 2009 movie, not the original, which was called The Fast and the Furious. She missed out on Fast 5 but returned to her role in the sixth movie.
She might die for real in this movie because Open Road sets a haunting tone. The trailer shows a deeply content Dom, Letty, and their son. But secretly, Dom is afraid of losing someone he loves.
The trailer is scattered with references to death. It includes phrases like "last ride," "how do you choose the ones you save," and "one of us might not come back from this." Our personal favorite is "ride or die," right at the end.
It's an uncharacteristically dark trailer, and the suggestion that one of them will die is right there, so don't accuse us of spoiling anything. We're guessing the makers of F&F are either creating tension to ensure people pay to go see the outcome, or they're emotionally prepping fans for Letty's death. That would mean the rumored all-female spinoff isn't happening.
But why Letty?
We used a simple technique called following the money. While Letty is by far a more interesting character and beautifully portrayed by Rodriguez, her head isn't the biggest one on the poster. There's no way a billion-dollar franchise would kill the biggest head on a poster, which is the clearest indication of how bankable the character/actor is. Still, Marvel killed Tony Stark, so maybe...
If we had to guess, Letty is going to bite the dust. It's no secret that Fast X is the beginning of a two-part end to the franchise, and to give the final movie something dramatic to work with, somebody has to die. Dom cares more about his family than anything else (even though he forgot he had a brother). Taking Letty away will give him the motivation he needs to drive his famous Dodge Charger right up Jason Momoa's ass.
One also needs to consider the future. These may be the last F&F movies, but nothing says there can't be a spin-off called Dom Doing Life One Quarter-Mile At A Time. A romantic comedy showing Dom finding new love after Letty.
It's no secret that this writer is not a fan of the franchise, but since I'm the only person in the office with a diploma in film and art appreciation, I usually end up with trailers. This final trailer may have convinced me to hand over the cash to go see it because the stakes feel real. There's a new emotional layer above and beyond the usual "family is everything" creed.
Also, it will be worth it to see how the crowd reacts to the first EV making an appearance in an F&F movie.
Fast X has a star-studded cast, and there's a real sense that the movie will return to its street racing roots. The director filmed some scenes at the first film's (great movie) old haunts, which upset the locals. There are also new faces, and Charlize Theron is returning as the only good villain the series has produced so far.
Well, apart from Johnny Tran, but he ain't got no engines, do he? Do he?!
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