There haven’t been many series like The Fast Saga that add in new characters with every installment, and this franchise thrives on having its latest characters make an impact upon arrival. However, that doesn’t mean all have been memorable enough to warrant a return.
F9 will be bringing back some faces we haven’t seen in a while, which has led to speculation that we might be seeing some more that haven’t been advertised so far. With that in mind, we’ve come up with five characters we’d like to see be brought back, and five others we really don’t want to return.
Want: Mr. Nobody
Despite being a government agent and never revealing his real name, Mr. Nobody turned out to be quite a friendly character who enjoyed a good relationship with the heroes. So much so that he even had family dinner with them at the end of The Fate of the Furious.
For this reason, we’d love to have him back since he’s a character who can be there for the hard-hitting moments and also have enough of a connection with the main characters to become part of their extended clan.
Don't Want: Hattie Shaw
The main problem with Hattie was that she wasn’t presented as her own character, with Hobbs & Shaw placing her chiefly as someone connected to the main heroes. Her characterization was solely being either Deckard Shaw’s sister, or Luke Hobbs’ love interest.
This is why we can’t be excited to have her back, seeing as everything about her is simply an extension to two already established characters. With the Shaw family already being seen quite a lot, Hattie doesn’t have much to offer.
Want: Monica Fuentes
People tend to forget about Monica’s existence in the series, owing to 2 Fast 2 Furious’ confusing placement in the series timeline. She did appear in a cameo in Fast Five, but nothing came out of it in the long run.
However, there was too much promise with her to ignore, and now with Brian out of the picture, Monica would be perfectly placed to shine on her own. She already has an established history with Roman, meaning this association can be used to seamlessly reintroduce Monica to the fold.
Don't Want: Twinkie
The problem with The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift was its uneven direction and a host of forgettable characters, one of which was Twinkie. Rather than come across as a major supporting character, he was mainly perceived as a sidekick at most.
Since the series has moved on from the days of solely being part of the racing genre, Twinkie has no point being there because he isn’t believable in the action packed setting anymore. The most he deserves is a cameo, but even that would be weird since it wouldn’t serve any purpose.
Want: Owen Shaw
It’s rather criminal how this guy went from being one of the smartest villains in the series to being a bit player in his last appearance. Still, there’s a lot more potential with Owen Shaw now that he’s seemingly on the good side.
Like his brother, Owen can be used as a major player in the team’s plans and can assist them from the outside. His former antagonism toward Dom and Letty would make for some great tension-filled scenes, as well as set Owen on the path toward proving himself as the changed person he became.
Don't Want: Jonah Hobbs
There was quite a bit of excitement toward Luke Hobbs’ family being introduced, but all we got was a bunch of dudes being perpetually angry at Luke for the most part. Jonah Hobbs was the most in focus here, and apart from him being cross with Luke, he had hardly anything else to do.
Ironically, though, it was his hostility toward Luke that made him slightly engaging in the first place, which means having him back wouldn’t excite anyone as Jonah just doesn’t have that draw you want from a Fast & Furious supporting character.
Want: Mateo Hobbs
Yes, he had no lines in Hobbs & Shaw and the hype around his debut was somewhat of a letdown in the film itself; however, it’s because of his limited role that we think Mateo Hobbs has a lot to offer. Like the case with Roman Reigns’ WWE career, the intrigue around the character is how he can evolve.
With Mateo, one got the sense that he could very well have been planning to betray his brothers, or he might have had more to say about their family situation. With potential like this, we’d love to see more to do with Mateo and have the series give him a chance to prove his worth.
Don't Want: Tego & Rico
Comic relief characters can draw in fans because of their ability to always bring out a laugh from the audience, but they’re also very expendable because another character can take their place. In The Fast Saga, Roman has pretty much made Tego and Rico useless.
His brand of comedy is almost the same as these two, and with Tego and Rico also proving to be quite annoying on many occasions in Fast Five, we don’t really need to bring them back and listen to their endless bickering once again.
Want: Victor Locke
The best surprise out of Hobbs & Shaw was the appearance of Victor Locke, who turned the few minutes he was on screen into gold. His chemistry with Hobbs was off the charts mainly due to him having the ability to both get under his skin yet be quite harmless.
It would be a waste if Locke didn’t show up in a follow-up to the spin-off, although we wouldn’t mind if Locke appeared in the main series and had a similar role to that of Mr. Nobody.
Don't Want: Gisele
People have been ecstatic over Han’s return in the series after Shaw seemingly had killed him off, but that had been because fans felt that Han’s death was unjustified as Shaw later became Dom’s friend. With Gisele, it would just take away any impact from her death if she simply returned.
The series could easily explain her arrival as Gisele having faked her demise, but this would truly be a “jump the shark” moment since it would render every emotional moment as temporary. Gisele was a cool character; however, it’s far better to leave her as a memory than bring her back.