Jason Momoa 'shocked how cool everyone' was on 'Fast X' despite franchise's history of controversy
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Jason Momoa has opened up about his initial concerns about working on the 'Fast X' sets in his most recent chat with Total Film (via ComicBook.com).
In the upcoming Fast & Furious movie, Momoa will play Dante Reyes, the main antagonist. Dante Reyes is the son of Hernan Reyes, the antagonist in 2011's 'Fast Five'. The 'Aquaman' actor said that when he joined the 'Fast X' cast, he anticipated much more on-set turmoil, given the various behind-the-scenes controversies that dogged the franchise in recent years.
Momoa's portrayal as Khal Drogo on 'Game of Thrones' was his first significant break, and he has since used it to propel himself to great success in the film industry, including his recent casting as DC Studios' Aquaman.
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'Everyone was so supportive'
In the latest issue of Total Film, Momoa said, "I was expecting there to be a lot of – I mean, to be completely honest – drama, and you're like, 'I want nothing to do with this.' But I saw nothing of the sort. It was amazing. Everyone was so supportive. I had a ball with Vin. I was just shocked at how cool everyone was. No one was jaded; everyone was just really, really happy to be there."
'Fast and Furious' franchise controversies
We can't really blame Momoa to have a set of presumptions about the work environment on the sets of 'Fast X' since the franchise is well known for quite a few controversies in the past.
Director Justin Lin left 'Fast X' owing to creative disagreements and problems with Diesel after directing five films in the Fast Saga. Diesel reportedly showed up unprepared, was frequently late, and forgot several of his lines. One confrontation between him and Lin apparently escalated to the point of a slammed door and Lin shouting, "This movie is not worth my mental health."
Diesel's actions on the set didn't just annoy Lin. The conflict between Dwayne Johnson and Diesel is well-known and first came to light in 2016 when Johnson wrote on his now-deleted Instagram post that certain male cast members were "candy a—es," which many took to be a dig at Diesel. Johnson's absence from the 2021 film 'F9', which the actor was originally intended to appear in, was a result of the feud.
Following that, the two actors engaged in a conflict of barely disguised social media posts about one another, which ultimately grew worse during the pre-production of 'F9'. At this time, Tyrese Gibson, a fellow Fast & Furious veteran, entered the conflict by publicly accusing Johnson of being responsible for F9's production delays, which might have also influenced Johnson's decision to leave that movie and skip 'Fast X'. The fact that Diesel and Johnson never shot a scene together in 2017's 'Fate Of The Furious' despite both of them playing significant roles in the plot suggests that the actors' ongoing dispute affected the production.
'Fast X' hits the theaters on May 19, 2023.