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Jason Momoa might be portraying a James Bond-style villain in Fast X, which is a great development for the series. Fast X will be the 10th entry in the Fast Saga, with Fast X also enlisting a huge cast. Momoa is confirmed to be an antagonist in Fast X alongside Charlize Theron’s returning Cipher, and this is a new development on several levels.
Between his role as Aquaman in the DCEU and his generally jovial image, Momoa is making a noteworthy transition with Fast X marking one of the few outright villainous roles he’s adopted. Additionally, the kind of villain Momoa will play in Fast X has been described as “sadistic,” “flamboyant,” and “like a peacock” by Momoa himself. All of those adjectives can just easily be applied to the villains of another action movie franchise.
James Bond has battled innumerable adversaries in the 007 franchise’s six-decade history, and many have been of the very kind of description provided for Jason Momoa's Fast X villain. Whether this means that Fast X is directly taking inspiration from the Bond movies is not clear, though the series has generally adopted a Bond-like feel post-Fast Five. When it comes to Momoa’s villain in Fast X, an evildoer of the Bond variety could offer something unique for the series.
Why A Bond Style Villain Is Perfect For Jason Momoa & Fast X
Even in roles of somewhat gruff characters like Aquaman and Conan the Barbarian, Momoa has channeled a dry sense of humor. Dialing that humor up to higher levels and flipping him into a villain role can very easily lead to an antagonist with a Bond villain-style level of theatricality. Aside from how well that could suit Momoa in one of his few villain roles, the Fast Saga itself could also benefit.
Save for the Fast Saga’s best villain Brixton Lore (Idris Elba) in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, the Fast & Furious movies have not typically relied upon larger-than-life antagonists. With how understated Theron has been as Cipher and Luke Evans's and Jason Statham's Owen and Deckard Shaw going from foes to allies of Dom's family, none have really exhibited as much camp as one might expect from the Fast & Furious series’ antagonists. A villain who would be at home in the Bond movies would fit right into what audiences have come to expect from the Fast & Furious movies, and it seems that Momoa’s might be the villain to finally make that happen.
With the Fast Saga having moved into a goofiness fairly close to the tone of the Roger Moore-era Bond movies, villains with plots for world domination who use sci-fi weapons fit the comic book movie-esque Fast Saga like a glove. Jason Momoa’s villain in Fast X, as he has described him, could be a villain out of Bond stable with his combination of peacock-like flamboyance and sadism. As the space-travel seen in F9 shows, if ever there was a time for a James Bond-esque villain, Jason Momoa’s villainous role in Fast X is it.
