We have had non-Latinx actors like Elsa Pataky (a Spanish actor) and Joaquim de Almeida (a Portuguese actor) taking part in Latinx characters within the franchise earlier than, but it surely goes past that. There’s Gisele, performed by Israeli actor Gal Gadot, first launched in “Quick & Livid” as a liaison for drug trafficker Arturo Braga working in Mexico, who solely received retconned into being an Israeli former Mossad agent in a later film. Then got here the most important shock: Dominic Toretto, a personality initially coded as Italian-American within the first film earlier than changing into full Latinx within the sequels, has a brother. Not solely that, however none apart from John Cena was forged as Dom’s very Latinx brother Jakob, son of Jack Toretto (performed by Latinx actor J.D. Pardo).

The franchise even tries to justify this twist by having one other character joke about there being a Scandinavian strand within the Toretto household, however there is not any mistaking it. John Cena is as Latino as café con leche, as is Jason Momoa. It does not cease there, both. Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner? Additionally Latinx (by marriage). Sung Kang’s Han? Latinx too, as are Ludacris’ Tej and Tyrese Gibson’s Roman and Nathalie Emmanuel’s Ramsey. Even Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw. No, actually, it is true, en serio.

This franchise has executed many nice stunts that defy gravity and logic. From the standard origins of a automobile racing beneath a truck, all the way in which to vehicles diving out of a aircraft, outracing a submarine, and actually going to area. The most important stunt the franchise has pulled, nevertheless, is stealthily changing into probably the most Latinx franchise in Hollywood, and spreading the gospel of Latinidad to the purpose the place it’s changing each actor in Hollywood right into a Latino, whether or not they prefer it or not.