‘Fast X’ cameos ranked: From Pete Davidson to [redacted]
If there’s one thing the Fast and Furious franchise loves more than driving cars through outrageous scenarios, it’s expanding its cinematic cast to be bigger than the MCU’s. Sure, The Fast and the Furious began with Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster. But through 11 films (and counting), Dominic Toretto’s family has grown to include Sung Kang, Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Kurt Russell, Helen Mirren, and many, many more.
So who popped up to surprise us in Fast X?
The movie’s vengeance premise allowed for a dizzying blend of new characters and resurrected favorites. Jason Momoa stars as Dante Reyes, son of the Brazilian crime lord offed in Fast Five. This nihilistic fiend is hellbent on destroying everything Dom holds dear, which pulls friends and foes out of the woodwork all over the world.
Here’s every cameo in Fast X, from least surprising to most crowd-roaringly shocking:
11. John Cena as Jakob Toretto
Less a cameo and more a co-star, John Cena’s character is back in the Torettos’ good graces after being the villain of F9. So, when the nefarious forces go after Dom’s son Little B (Leo Abelo Perry) in their Los Angeles home, who better to barge in to save the day than Uncle Jakob?
10. Charlize Theron as Cipher
Another villain back in play in Fast X is Cipher, the cyber-terrorist introduced in The Fate of the Furious. As she not only kidnapped Dom’s son but also killed the boy’s mother, Elena (Elsa Pataky), Cipher is not welcomed when she knocks on the Toretto family’s door in the middle of the night — even if she is bleeding out.
Still, Dom manages to swallow his rage to hear her out, and learns about Dante’s plans of revenge — and that Cipher’s willing to team up because “the enemy of my enemy is you (Dom).”
There are plenty of hard feelings between this foe and the Fast fam. But the ending of Fast X suggests their relationship may go the way of Hobbs and Shaw (Johnson and Statham), both former antagonists who became powerful members of this world-trekking, car-racing, death-defying crew.
9. Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw
Speaking of Deckard Shaw, MI6 agent turned mercenary, he’s in the fray once more after branching out with the spinoff Hobbs and Shaw. Statham’s coming back to the franchise isn’t surprising, not only because his snarling baddie-turned-buddy has become a fan favorite, but also because his return was teased in the F9 mid-credits scene.
In a shadowy bunker, Shaw is pummeling a large punching bag — inside of which is a battered Russian (Miraj Grbic), getting the receiving end of an intense interrogation tactic. Their tenacious tête-à-tête is interrupted by a knock at the door. It’s Han (Kang), who Shaw famously murdered (or tried to) in Tokyo Drift, a fact revealed in an extended scene at the end of Fast and Furious 6.
Naturally, Shaw is ready for a fight. What we learn in Fast X is that Han, on the other hand, is ready for more snacking and a team-up sure to be explored in Fast and Furious 11 (or whatever the inevitable sequel will be called).
Oh, and don’t cry for the man in the bag. He escapes — after many other minions are put down without mercy.
8. Helen Mirren as Magdalene Shaw (aka Queenie)
Deckard’s mother, who first appears in The Fate of the Furious, swans in after the Rome debacle for a brief but tender heart-to-heart with Dom. As the mother of three Fast foes/friends, she knows how hard the ties that bind can pull, and warns Dom to watch out as he readies to battle Dante. But more than bringing poise and prestige to this sequel, Queenie’s reappearance is a reminder of what Deckard has to lose if Dante gets his way.
7. Rita Moreno as Abuelita Toretto
The EGOT winner might seem an unlikely pick for a Fast movie, but her inclusion has been teased on the film’s press tour, with Moreno appearing on The View to talk about her new “family.”
In the film, she is introduced as Dom’s grandmother, who leads a Corona toast at the requisite family barbecue in act one. Dressed in an immaculate white outfit bedecked with gold chains and a massive Dolce and Gabbana belt buckle, Abuelita Toretto looks like she’s casually cosplaying Elvis. But she’s here to do more than be graceful and glamorous.
In a tender scene, she speaks to the franchise’s themes of family as well as Fast X’s focus on legacy. Before Dom was a street racer turned superhero racing around the globe to save the day, his father was a mechanic and track racer who worked hard to raise his family. And the hope for Little B is that he’ll best even his dad someday.
Luckily, this abuela is overlooked by Dante’s murdering mercenaries. Well, for now anyway…
6. Luis Da Silva Jr. as Diogo
This pro basketball player turned actor first joined the Fast fam in Fast Five as a street racer in Rio De Janeiro who loses his hot ride to Dom. It’s cool though, as Fast X shows when Dom returns to the Brazilian city — that he demolished with a barreling vault — there’s no bad blood.
Diogo is quick to cheer when Dom rolls up to his party — and just as quick to get his back in that many-gunned Mexican standoff against Dante’s crew. Sadly, Diogo’s loyalty costs him. Racing alongside Dom against Dante, he is doomed when the self-proclaimed “devil” bombs his vehicle. Rather than winning the race, Diogo goes up in flames. He was ride-or-die until he died. Of course, in this franchise, death may not last forever. Could Diogo pop up again farther down the road?
5. Ludmilla as starter
Speaking of that Rio street race, it had another cameo right at its start.
Brazilian singer-songwriter Ludmilla, who is best known for “Fala Mal de Mim,” struts her stuff and then drops the flag as the race’s starter — a reliable position for Fast cameos, like Rita Ora in Fast and Furious 6.
This cameo comes as a surprise if you’re not one of Ludmilla’s 29.3 million followers on Instagram. There, she teased her appearance along with the soundtrack in a stems-centric clip.
4. Pete Davidson
Pete Davidson popped up in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and now in Fast X!
Turns out this cameo was teased in Bupkis! Peacock’s semi-autobiographical comedy series stars Davidson as himself, and includes an episode that not only parodies Fast and Furious movies but also suggests the Saturday Night Live alumni could join Diesel’s crew — if only he could clean up his act. Whether art reflects life or vice versa, Davidson does pop up in Fast X, but he doesn’t get in on the action. So for that, look to Bupkis.
In Fast X, Davidson can be found in London at a sketchy internet cafe. Ramses leads her cohorts there to find a black market contact called Bowie, who can help them acquire the gear they need. Davidson plays this bleach-blond hacker, who deals in all kinds of illicit goods, including a “muffin party.”
Though his casting was announced in 2022, his role is surprising for those not keeping up on the trades. Though his part is small, Davidson brings his brand of irreverent wackiness before the crew needs to flee — because Bowie is a snitch. But at least snack-loving Han got a free drugged muffin out of the encounter.
3. Meadow Walker, Paul Walker’s daughter, as flight attendant
The 24-year-old model revealed her cameo on Instagram, writing, “The first Fast was released when I was 1 year old! I grew up on set watching my father, Vin, Jordana, Michelle, Chris and more on the monitors. Thanks to my dad, I was born into the Fast family. I can’t believe now I get to be up there too.”
Inducted into the onscreen Fast family, Meadow Walker plays the flight attendant who helps Jakob and Little B in their escape plan. In case you didn’t recognize the family resemblance to her father, who died in 2013, Fast X drops a hint that this is a crucial cameo. Lil B asks Uncle Jakob, “Do you know her?” He quips, “It helps to have friends in high places.”
Notably, Meadow’s uncles, Caleb and Cody Walker, also appeared in this film series. Specifically, they — along with a body double and some CGI — helped complete Paul Walker’s posthumous performance in Furious 7.
2. Fast X Post-credit reveal: Dwayne Johnson returns as Luke Hobbs
Hobbs is back! This mid-credit reveal was spoiled ahead of the film’s release by The Wrap. However, fans of the franchise had suspected this return, even if Johnson and Diesel reportedly have beef. Besides, how can you make a Fast Five vengeance plot without including Hobbs?
In the Fast X post-credit scene, a masked and heavily armed and armored mountain of a man storms into Dante’s den of TV surveillance. Dom was here before, but now it’s Hobbs’s turn. As Dante’s ominous voiceover explains, it may have been Dom that stole the Reyes family fortune from that vault — but it was Hobbs who fatally shot Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida) in retaliation for his DSS squad’s deaths. So, of course, this reckoning wouldn’t be complete without gunning for this burly cop.
Bad news for Hobbs’ daughter. Daddy’s gotta go to work in the sequel, presumably to keep her alive!
1. Finale reveal: Gal Gadot returns as Gisele Yashar
GISELE LIVES! This one has been leaked by nefarious Twitter spoilers. But for fans who steered clear, this return caused a massive roar in theaters.
Former Agency operative Gisele Yashar was first introduced in Fast and Furious and presumed dead after the end of Fast and Furious 6. In a bid to save her beloved Han from an advancing villain, she took a seemingly fatal fall to shoot her lover’s way to safety.
But hey, this family comes back from explosions and cataclysmic car collisions (See Han and Letty). Why not falling off a speeding plane?
In Fast X, Han is finally at the point in the grieving process where he’s opening himself up to new love via dating apps. But before he swipes, he should know that his former flame has just resurfaced via submarine in Antarctica, where she’s come to the rescue of uneasy allies Letty and Cipher.
Can you handle it? Actually, can you handle the wait until Fast and Furious 11?
Fast X is now in theaters.