Michelle Rodriguez has played Letty Ortiz for nearly two decades, but she almost quit The Fast and the Furious because of the original script. Releasing in 2001, Universal quietly launched what would eventually become one of the biggest franchises in the world. Starring Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto and Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner, the street racing flick became a box office hit and introduced audiences around the world to a batch of new characters to follow.
Although she didn't return until Fast & Furious in 2009, Letty has become one of the franchise's most well-known characters. Her return in Fast & Furious did result in the "death" of the character, but it was then revealed in Fast & Furious 6 that she was still alive. Letty has always been loyal to Dom and their romance is one of the central relationships in the entire franchise. However, the love between Dom and Letty nearly had a different beginning, one that Rodriguez was not a fan of.
When Rodriguez joined The Fast and the Furious, it was her first Hollywood movie and just her third credit overall. As a result, Rodriguez agreed to be in the film despite having a significant problem with the script at the time. As she explained to The Daily Beast in 2015, the original script put Letty in a love triangle with Dom and Brian, and Rodriguez didn't believe that is something Letty would do. Since she was still new to acting, Rodriguez thought she'd be able to request changes later on and was ready to walk away from the role if they weren't made. Luckily, her criticisms on Letty's arc were heard and changed so she could stay on board.
The idea that The Fast and the Furious at one time considered having Letty be a love interest to Brian, as well as Dom, is something that would've completely changed the franchise moving forward. Brian has always only had an interest in Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster), so this alternate version of the film could've hurt the franchise's most important relationships. In addition to Letty and Dom's relationship not being as stable and Brian having an interest in Letty too, there's no way that Brian and Letty hooking up wouldn't impact Dom and Brian's brother-like bond. All of this could've ruined the familial themes of the franchise that The Fast and the Furious established.
With the platform that the Fast & Furious franchise has rewarded her with, Rodriguez has not been shy about speaking her mind, so it's good to know that this has always been the case. A few years after revealing her original problems with Letty's portrayal, Rodriguez said in interviews that she'd leave the franchise if female characters weren't better represented. Since then, Letty's received an even larger role, while other female villains and supporting characters have been added to the franchise. There's also been talk of a female-led Fast & Furious team-up movie. Rodriguez and many of the franchise's leading ladies will return in Fast & Furious 9, and hopefully Letty will continue to avoid a love triangle in the latest entry too.
