Slap Jack actor Michael Ealy discusses whether he'd be up to return to the Fast & Furious franchise. Having now been going for more than twenty years, the Fast & Furious franchise has seen the release of nine popular films, including one spinoff, Hobbs & Shaw. The franchise has a number of franchise regulars at this point, including Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto, Jordana Brewster's Mia, Michelle Rodriguez's Letty, and Tyrese Gibson's Roman.
Ealy's Slap Jack is first introduced in 2003's 2 Fast 2 Furious, the follow-up to 2001's successful first entry in the franchise, The Fast and the Furious. Although not a major character in the film, Slap Jack is notable for his participation in a street race organized by Tej Parker (Ludacris). The race sees Slap Jack and Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) race through the streets of Miami before Slap Jack ultimately totals his 1993 Toyota Supra Turbo MK IV. The character later reappears in the film's climactic police chase with his Toyota back in working order, but he is not present in any of the following Fast & Furious installments.
In SR's new exclusive interview with Ealy for his role in Netflix's The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window, the actor reveals that he would happily return to the Fast & Furious franchise as Slap Jack if asked. Ealy says that the character would be a bit older now, and hopes that, by this stage of his life, he's using his real name instead of his "Slap Jack" nickname. Although he's up to return, he says he hasn't gotten a call just yet and jokingly blames Ludacris for his absence from the franchise. Check out Ealy's full comment when asked if Slap Jack will ever make a return below:
Man, I hope so. He's probably a little bit older now. And hopefully, he uses his government name at this point. I don't know. You know, I haven't gotten that call. They've made a lot of them without me. I blame Ludacris for this. I think it's his fault I haven't come back.
Considering the Fast & Furious franchise's penchant for bringing back old characters, it certainly seems possible that Slap Jack could be making a return at some point. Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) appeared in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift before returning to reprise his role for cameo appearances in Furious 7 and last summer's F9. The franchise is also not afraid to bring back more minor characters, having included Twinkie (Shad 'Bow Wow' Moss) and Earl (Jason Tobin) in F9 after their supporting roles in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.
With it now confirmed that the Fast & Furious franchise will end after the next two installments, time is running out for Ealy's Slap Jack to make a return. Although he was never a major character, many fans of 2 Fast 2 Furious would likely be happy to see the character come back, even if just for a cameo appearance. With the franchise's history of bringing back characters from previous movies, a Slap Jack appearance in the final two Fast & Furious movies certainly doesn't seem out of the question.
