Jordana Brewster Looks Back at 25 Years of Fast & Furious
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- Jordana Brewster auditioned for the originally-titled "Redline" while a sophomore at Yale, with director Rob Cohen initially concerned she had a "patrician air" before casting her as Mia Toretto and sending her to a Las Vegas racing boot camp shortly after she got her driver's license.
- Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Brewster, and Michelle Rodriguez formed the original cast whose interwoven backstories anchored the franchise, with Brewster crediting Cohen for giving "everyone their moment in the sun" through collaborative, "annoyingly thorough" attention to authenticity.
- Brewster was not invited back for "2 Fast 2 Furious" but returned for the fourth film under indie director Justin Lin — who she credits with restarting the franchise by filming in Brazil — and who directed until quitting just after production began on "Fast X."
- Brewster reflected on her deepening off-screen relationship with Paul Walker, calling his 2013 death in a car crash "tragic" and noting "he's been gone 13 years now," while emphasizing their on-screen chemistry grew naturally across sequels.
- "The Fast and the Furious" screened at the Cannes Film Festival for its 25th anniversary, where Brewster rewatched it for the first time in years and experienced it being canonized as a classic.
- The original film returns to theaters for a week-long 25th-anniversary engagement on August 21, while Brewster said there's "been a lot of talking" about the 11th installment and she hopes to be on set early next year.
Why it matters: The August 21 theatrical re-release reframes a film Brewster describes as having been made on a "relatively small budget" with "no other options" but practical action — one the cast and studio expected little from — into a canonized classic, while her comments confirm the 11th film remains in active development with her involvement targeted for early next year.
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