Vin Diesel has played Dominic Toretto for over 20 years, but find out why he took a break and did not appear in Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift.
Between his tough physical look and signature deep voice, Vin Diesel has become one of the most prominent figures in Hollywood. Some people may recognize him from Saving Private Ryan, The Chronicles of Riddick, XXX, or even as a tough loving nanny in The Pacifier, but almost every one of his fans know him as the very serious and stubborn Dominic Toretto from the Fast & Furious franchise.
In 2001, street racing went from being an underground sport to something everyone wanted to talk about and even attempt. After seeing Diesel and Paul Walker on the big screen with their fast cars and even faster lifestyle, people were hooked. The series has produced 10 movies thus far that follow the main storyline, one spinoff movie, two short films, and a television series. It is pretty obvious that the franchise is doing well with no sign of stopping anytime soon. So ,the question is this: why did Diesel take some time away from the series in the very beginning? Dominic Toretto is nowhere to be found in 2 Fast 2 Furious, and he only appears for a couple seconds in the very last scene of Tokyo Drift. What was going on with one of the most important actors in the series?
Continue reading to find out why Diesel didn’t appear in the Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift installment of the franchise or its predecessor.
Different Opinions About 2 Fast 2 Furious
After the first Fast and Furious film was released, it was only natural for writers and producers to sit around enjoying their big success, but when cheerful conversations turned into ideas and plans for a second film, Diesel went against the grain. In an interview with #Legend, Diesel recalls being with the CEOs and owners of the franchise. While they were hyping up the film and saying they needed to make another one, Diesel said, “You can’t do this again. You can’t touch it. You have to leave it alone.” At the time, the actor wanted the single film to eventually be considered a classic, and a sequel would ruin that. Once he saw the script to the proposed second film, Diesel chose to walk away from the series because it did not follow the same storyline.
Basing a movie’s foundation on fast cars and deadly rivalries was unique, but Diesel was right to be hesitant about it being an overkill if done too much. Races, romance, and rivalries could only go so far and in so many different locations before audiences got tired of it. 2 Fast 2 Furious had double the budget of The Fast and the Furious, but there was not a significant increase in profit.
Vin Diesel’s Cameo in Tokyo Drift
When Chris Morgan was writing the script for Tokyo Drift, he admitted to UPROXX that he was thinking about Diesel’s character coming back, going overseas, and learning how to drift. Clearly, Morgan’s vision was shattered and rearranged. Instead, it focuses on a troubled high school student who, after being shipped off to live with his father in Japan, makes some unlikely friends and enemies in the foreign car scene. Diesel does reprise his role for a brief cameo in the very final scene, but that appearance came with a lot of negotiations.
During a Q&A with Moveable Fest, Tokyo Drift director Justin Lin talked about the lengthy conversation that likely saved the whole franchise. Lin had been told that Diesel was done with Fast & Furious, but he also felt like he needed to try to meet him halfway. After learning that Diesel was a huge Dungeons and Dragons fan, Lin knew his angle. Diesel likes mythology and histories of characters. In short, things need to happen for a reason. The actor needed to see that his character, Dominic Toretto, has a past as well as a future, so he and Lin sat down for several hours and discussed the importance of Toretto in the franchise. After some time talking and Universal Pictures’ agreement to sign over the rights of Diesel’s former character Riddick from The Chronicles of Riddick franchise, Diesel was on board to came back to the set.
Vin Diesel: Leading the Fast & Furious Franchise
The smartest people in the entertainment business know that an actor’s time on screen can come to an end at any point, so the best actors make sure to spend time behind the camera as well as in front of it. After making an appearance in Tokyo Drift, Vin Diesel decided to do just that with the Fast & Furious saga. He was a part of the production process for the following seven films to make sure that the storylines stayed true to the characters.
True fans will notice that Tokyo Drift was the last film that intensely focuses on racing; the rest of the series has become about completing missions and taking down certain individuals. Diesel’s character is often the lead man that brings everyone together for the sake of the family. In The Fate of the Furious, Dominic Toretto is given a son to add a sense of humanity to him, but the child’s role also elevates Dominic’s need to constantly protect those he loves. Fans are anxiously waiting to see how Gisele and Hobbs will come back into the storyline and what rivalries will progress.
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