Franchise star and producer Vin Diesel has teased the possibility of Eva Mendes returning to the Fast & Furious franchise in the forthcoming tenth installment. Diesel is currently gearing up for the highly-anticipated F9: The Fast Saga slated to hit theaters this June after numerous delays due to the global pandemic. The latest action blockbuster will see the return of Tokyo Drift stars Sung Kang, Lucas Black, Bow Wow, and Jason Tobin.
Mendes first made her debut in the franchise with the 2003 sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious, in which she starred as undercover U.S. Customs agent Monica Fuentes. Bringing Paul Walker's Brian O'Connor and Tyrese Gibson's Roman "Rome" Pearce into the dangerous world of Argentinian drug lord Carter Verone, Fuentes shared a brief romantic interest with Brian until 2009's Fast & Furious reunited him with Jordana Brewster's Mia Toretto. After being absent for three sequels, Fuentes returned for a mid-credits cameo in Fast Five to reveal to Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs and the audience that Michelle Rodriguez's Letty Ortiz was still alive, despite her seeming death in the 2009 film.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly looking back at the now-20-year-old franchise and its future, the conversation eventually shifted to Mendes' character and the hopes of her return to the series. While not confirming anything for the character, Diesel did tease fans will have to wait for the upcoming tenth film as he and the creative team behind the films are looking at how not to overstuff their sequels while still delivering plenty of jaw-dropping entertainment.
"We'll just wait for 10. Let's just say, the fact that you guys know that the studio is saying, 'we can't cover all this ground that needs to be covered in just one movie.' You can only imagine what is to come."
When it comes to tentpole franchises and actors reprising their roles, audiences have learned at this point to never truly say never about the possibility of a fan-favorite character returning. Granted, 2 Fast 2 Furious is generally lower on fans' rankings of the Diesel-fronted series, but the fact that both Ludacris and Gibson went on to become part of the main crew in Fast Five with Mendes also making a cameo in it certainly shows both the filmmakers and fans enjoyed Fuentes at the very least. While Brian might have returned to Mia before Walker's untimely death, with Hobbs' ongoing involvement in the series and characters coming back from the dead, there's certainly plenty of room for Mendes to come back in the tenth or eleventh outing.
Even with the mainline series coming to an end with the eleventh film, it doesn't have to mean the conclusion of Mendes' involvement in the series. A female-led spinoff is reportedly in development for the franchise and with Rodriguez expressing her desire to keep their roster diverse and full of empowering women, Mendes could carry over into this side project. For now, fans will have to wait and see what Diesel and co. have planned for the future of the Fast & Furious franchise when F9 heads to theaters on June 25.
Source EW
