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5 Reasons Hernan Reyes Is The Franchise’s Best Villain (& 5 Why It’s Cipher)
The Fast & Furious franchise has had its fair share of villains, some memorable, some not. Trying to take down Dominic “Dom” Toretto and his family is never an easy task but there are two villains who have impressed the most while at it. These are Fast Five villain Hernan Reyes (Jaoquim De Almeida) and The Fate Of The Furious villain Cipher (Charlize Theron).
RELATED: Which Fast And Furious Character Are You, Based On Your Chinese Zodiac?
Fast Five is thought of as the turning point at which the franchise stopped being just a ‘racing drama.’ Joaquim De Almeida had portrayed crime bosses in a number of films before his role as Reyes, hence his amazing performance wasn’t such a surprise. Reyes had the crown of the franchise’s best villain for a while, until Theron’s tech-savvy Cipher showed up. But who really is better?
Reyes: A More Sensible Motivation
Hernan’s Reyes’s goal was simple. The DEA had seized three of his cars and was transferring them using a train. One of them had a computer chip that contained the addresses of all the locations where he hid his money at. He thus hired Dom and his team to get the chip. When things didn’t go as planned, he decided to make them pay. Quite straightforward.
Unlike the rest of the villains, Cipher was more than a tough baddie but her motivations appeared overblown. She risked her operations by making Dom work for her yet she could have easily relied on her more competent and loyal henchmen. She also stole nuclear codes in order to cause World War III. But how exactly she would benefit from the war was never spelt out clearly
Cipher: She Got Dom To Turn His Back On ‘Family’
Dom’s team aka “Family” means everything to Dom but for a brief moment, he didn’t care about them, thanks to Cipher. No other antagonist has ever managed to get into Dom’s head the way she did. While Dom was on a honeymoon with Letty in Cuba, Cipher tracked him down and blackmailed him after kidnapping his son and ex-wife.
In other films in the franchise, Dom had always been in control of things, even when he had no backup. But against Cipher, he appeared hopeless and doomed for failure. If it wasn’t for outside intervention from the enemy-turned-ally Deckard Shaw, Dom could have remained Cipher’s slave for a lot longer.
Reyes: Best Quotes
Unlike the protagonists, Fast & Furious villains have never been smart talkers. That’s until Reyes came into the picture. His one-liners and general speeches have remained unmatched so far. He memorably gave a speech on how violence against the common people was useless. He referred to how the Spanish used violence while trying to colonize Brazil and failed.
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He compared himself to the Portuguese who came bearing gifts and succeeded. Reyes then explained how he also gave the people electricity and water so that they could depend on him. And when one of his henchmen told him that his money was so safe that even God couldn’t reach it, he replied with “God is not my worry.”
Cipher: The Only Villain To Avoid Getting Killed Or Arrested
Cipher was the only antagonist in the franchise who failed in their mission but still avoided getting killed or arrested. This might change in the future but the fact that she has been conducting criminal operations for years with no consequences makes her better than other villains.
Only five other villains have survived the events of the films they appeared in, but unlike Cipher, they were arrested. These include: Carter Verone, Takashi, Arturo Braga, and Deckard Shaw.
Reyes: Brutality
In action movies, villains tend to be judged a lot by their kills. A villain who doesn’t kill comes off as weak. This was the undoing of Cipher and all the villains that came before Reyes. In fact, before Fast Five, the only other villain that killed someone was Johnny Tran.
Reyes, on the other hand, showed how violent he can be by beating by beating one of his subordinates to death with a paperweight. He also had Dom and Brian tortured before they finally escaped. Reyes’ was directly involved in the death of five law enforcement officers too who were blown up by his men.
Cipher: The Mastermind
Even though she first appeared in The Fate Of The Furious, it was revealed that most of the other villains that came before Cipher had been under her control. This made her similar to Blofeld in the James Bond franchise. Being able to wield so much power over other baddies make her a better villain.
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She hired Owen Shaw to steal military grade weapons to enable her create advanced weapons. She also hired Mose Jakanda. And given that Owen Shaw was the boss of Arturo Braga, this makes Cipher his boss too.
Reyes: Absolute Power
Part of what makes a good villain is having power. As Reyes explained in his iconic speech, he had power over the people of Rio because he was like a Robin Hood figure to them. He used the proceeds of crime to give them their basic needs. He also had the police in his pocket and was even able to store his giant vault inside a police station.
While Cipher had a number of baddies working for her, she never really had total control over anything. For example, she couldn’t turn Deckard Shaw and Dom into her full time puppets. Her missions failed too and so did those of other villains in the franchise.
Cipher: Skills And Abilities
Cipher was capable of doing a variety of things. She was a tech genius with a vast amount of knowledge that rivalled that of God’s Eye creator, Ramsey. She also erased all information about her past and for a long, the authorities and fellow criminals thought she was an organization rather than a person. She was able to access the electronic mainframes of multiple vehicles all at once.
Cipher also had unmatched spy abilities as seen from how she was able to manipulate Dom. Her fighting skills were also seen when she raided Mr. Nobody’s secret base named “Nowhere” and incapacitated everyone in the facility. Other antagonists in the franchise have mostly been one dimensional. They are either good fighters, good racers or ruthless criminal masterminds.
Reyes: Memorable Death
Action movie villains are often remembered by how they die. A dull death makes all their dirty work pointless. While Reyes didn’t manage to get away scot free like Cipher, he at least died trying to get back what he treasured.
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When Dom’s team stole the vault from the police station, Reyes chose to pursue them together with his henchman and the corrupt police offices. This was a break from his usual character, since he always delegated such duties instead of putting himself in danger. His decision to pursue proved to be a mistake as the giant vault knocked his car over. As he got out his car, he asked Hobbs to spare him but Hobbs pumped bullets into his body.
Cipher: Better Toys
Better toys, ranging from weapons to cars are needed to defeat Dom and his family. Plenty of baddies have brought out everything they had in the franchise but they couldn’t match what “the family” had to offer.
Cipher, on the other hand, was on a whole other level. She had an untraceable plane that she used to keep Dom’s son and conduct her operations. She was also able to commandeer a submarine and hunt Dom’s team using missiles. Her possession of the Nightshade and God’s Eye made her undefeatable for a while too.
NEXT: 5 Directors Who Almost Helmed A Fast & Furious Movie (& 5 Who Should)
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Fast & Furious 11 Release Delay & Filming Start Date Confirmed By Director
Summary
Fast and Furious 11
is facing a release date delay to Summer 2026 due to strikes, with director Louis Leterrier confirming the sequel will not be hitting its April 4, 2025 date.
Leterrier also confirms that filming starts in Fall 2025 after finishing a horror movie in September.
The final installment in the
Fast Saga
reunites Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto for one last ride, while also leaving the door open for other spinoffs.
After facing multiple delays due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes, Fast and Furious 11 is seeing its release date delayed. The next installment in the Vin Diesel-fronted franchise is expected to be the last mainline sequel, while development continues on the Dwayne Johnson-led spinoff Hobbs & Reyes, a mysterious standalone movie penned by Fast X’s Zach Dean and a potential female-led spinoff. While a filming start date was never confirmed, Universal had previously set the movie for an April 2025 release date.
During a recent interview with Collider at a CCXP MX panel, Louis Leterrier was asked for an update on Fast and Furious 11. The director went on to confirm that the final mainline installment in the action franchise will no longer be making its April 4, 2025 release date, instead now aiming for a Summer 2026 release window with the filming start date being set for this fall. Check out what Leterrier said below:
It’s happening. It’s happening very, very soon. I’m able to shoot a little horror movie this summer. I’m finishing my horror movie on September 15th, and I start Fast on September 16th.
Will Fast 11’s Multiple Delays Help Or Hurt The Sequel?
Much like the tenth film before it, Fast and Furious 11 has faced a few behind-the-scenes hardships in its road to getting off the ground, namely the delays stemming from the 2023 strikes. While the latest movie seems to have retained its core creative team in comparison to the shift in directors from franchise vet Justin Lin to Leterrier on Fast X after reported creative differences between the former and Diesel, this change didn’t seem to help much with the continued downward trend recent sequels have seen from critics. Check out how the franchise’s Rotten Tomatoes scores compare below:
Title RT Critical Score RT Audience Score The Fast and the Furious 54% 74% 2 Fast 2 Furious 37% 50% The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift 37% 69% Fast & Furious 28% 67% Fast Five 78% 83% Fast & Furious 6 71% 84% Furious 7 81% 82% The Fate of the Furious 67% 72% Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw 67% 88% F9: The Fast Saga 59% 82% Fast X 56% 84%
Even looking outside the Fast and Furious franchise, many movie sequels have found themselves hurt by various delays, be they from creative changes, general release shifts or other factors. The action genre in particular is one in which lengthier development periods can lead to diminishing returns, be it A Good Day to Die Hard, Rambo: Last Blood or Diesel’s own xXx: The Return of Xander Cage. While Fast and Furious 11 may only be getting pushed back by a year, the delay is nonetheless a concern that the final installment could find itself in trouble.
On the other hand, the longer wait for Fast and Furious 11 to close out the mainline series of movies could actually prove beneficial for the sequel. Though Leterrier may be busy with another project in the lead-up to filming the next installment, writers Oren Uziel and Christina Hodson should now have more than enough time to really look back at the script and ensure it learns from the critical missteps of recent installments to deliver a satisfying conclusion to the Dominic Toretto saga.
Source: Collider
Fast and Furious 11 Fast and Furious 11 is the final movie in the Fast Saga. It reunites Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto with the rest of the cast for one last ride. However, the franchise is open for spinoff films like Hobbs & Shaw afterward.Director Louis Leterrier Release Date April 4, 2025 Distributor(s) Universal Pictures Writers Christina Hodson , Oren Uziel
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Vin Diesel Already Has His Perfect Fast & Furious Replacement Franchise With 51-Year-Old Remake
Summary
Vin Diesel’s dominance in Fast & Furious is ending, but Kojak could kick off a new action franchise for him.
Kojak’s reboot faces an uncertain future, but its similarity to Fast & Furious makes it a worthy project for Diesel.
Diesel’s potential shift from criminal racer to cop signifies a fresh start in a possible Fast & Furious-like series.
Vin Diesel’s days of playing Dominic Toretto are numbered, but the actor has already found his perfect Fast & Furious replacement. Diesel found a major breakout role in the early 2000s thanks to participating in The Fast and the Furious. The original 2001 street racing crime movie became the springboard for a sprawling franchise that has lasted for over two decades. The success of the Fast & Furious movies transformed Vin Diesel’s career, turning him into an even bigger star, especially in the action movie genre. But, Fast & Furious 11 is planned as the final chapter for him and the franchise.
The Fast & Furious franchise’s end will put Vin Diesel in an unfamiliar position of not having a major franchise to lean back on. This presents the actor with various options, such as changing the course of his career to pursue non-franchise roles. However, the more likely outcome is that Diesel will attempt to find a new IP that can replace Fast & Furious. He has had trouble in that regard recently, with franchises like xXx or Riddick running cold and Bloodshot and The Last Witch Hunter failing to launch franchises. There is another option for Diesel, though.
2:03 
Kojak Can Be Vin Diesel’s New Action Crime Franchise After Fast & Furious
Diesel Has Been Developing The Reboot Since 2015
The impending conclusion of the Fast & Furious franchise means it is finally time for Vin Diesel’s Kojak reboot to get off the ground. The project was announced back in 2015 with Diesel re-teaming with Universal Pictures, the studio behind Fast & Furious, to develop a movie based on Kojak. The original TV series starred Telly Savalas as Theo Kokaj and ran for three seasons after debuting in 1973. The series revolves around Kojak, a New York detective known for being willing to go beyond the law and a love for cars and lollipops, and follows him as he investigates different cases.
Kojak was rebooted in 2005 as a TV show starring Ving Rhames, but it only ran for six episodes
Development on Vin Diesel’s Kojak movie has not been very active in the nine years since it was announced. However, it still maintains the base similarities to Fast & Furious, which makes the project a worthwhile endeavor for Diesel in terms of finding a new action franchise. He would now have another big action series about cars and crime, essentially making Kojak into a newer version of Fast & Furious. The irony here is that Diesel takes on the role of a cop after playing criminal racer Dominic Toretto.
Vin Diesel’s Involvement Can Morph Kojak Into A Major Action Franchise
Kojak Could Be A Fast & Furious Clone
Looking at the original TV show, Kojak might not necessarily project to be a major blockbuster action franchise akin to Fast & Furious. The TV series was relatively grounded and small due to the nature of its production. However, the fact that Diesel and Universal pinpointed this property as something they wanted to revive together is telling. The announcement of Kojak’s reboot came months after Furious 7 debuted in theaters and took the franchise to new heights at the box office and in terms of how ridiculously big the action and story could get.
It’s sometimes difficult to remember that Fast & Furious started off with a story about DVD thieves who were also street racers before Diesel helped turn it into something much bigger. With that experience and success already behind him, it would be understandable if a similar path was envisioned for Kojak. The series could then morph into a Fast & Furious clone, one that gives Vin Diesel a new franchise to headline and Universal a “fresh” action franchise to grow.
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The Rock’s WWE Run Means Fast & Furious 11 Must Make 1 Major Hobbs Change
Summary
Hobbs from Fast & Furious 11 needs a gritty edge like The Rock’s WWE character to keep the franchise fresh and exciting.
The Rock’s time away from the Fast & Furious universe provides the perfect reason for Hobbs to return with a personal vendetta and a more savage attitude.
While Hobbs shouldn’t become a full-fledged villain in Fast & Furious 11, adding some edginess and dirty tricks could make his character more intriguing and dynamic.
Fast & Furious 11 must make one major Hobbs change after The Rock’s incredible WWE run. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s WWE return surpassed his recent movies, with the actor creating some of the best work of his career. Having returned to a thunderous reception, The Rock was able to flip the crowd’s reception by becoming a heel and playing a major part in WrestleMania’s main events. The Rock hasn’t played a villain on screen for years, as even his depiction of Black Adam lent more into the character’s anti-hero side, which made his wrestling run all the more refreshing.
While his wrestling character may not perfectly translate into the Fast & Furious universe, there is one aspect of The Rock’s WWE run that the franchise should attempt to implement. After debuting in Fast Five, The Rock’s best Fast & Furious scenes helped contribute to the movie series becoming so popular, with Luke Hobbs becoming an instrumental part of the story. He was even given his own spinoff alongside Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) and is set to get a solo movie in the future. Despite this, Hobbs would still benefit from adding one key aspect of The Rock’s WWE run.
The Rock’s WWE Run Proves Fast & Furious 11 Needs To Give Hobbs More Of An Edge
Fast & Furious Would Benefit From Hobbs Adopting Some Of The Rock’s WWE Tendancies
Given how electrifying The Rock’s recent WWE run was, there is no doubt Fast & Furious 11 needs to give Hobbs more of an edge. Although the character has had his more serious moments, like most of the Fast & Furious cast, Hobbs tends to mix action with comedy. Hobbs and Shaw are supposed to be two of the more stoic heroes, yet they are constantly at each other’s throats and cracking jokes to help maintain the franchise’s lighthearted core. However, giving Hobbs a grittier side would help the character thrive upon his return.
The Rock’s Fast & Furious return may redeem Fast X’s box office, but the character needs to come back stronger than ever. By allowing him to be more ruthless, he can still maintain some elements of comedy but also become more interesting in the process. Johnson proved that despite being a detestable heel, he was still as hilarious as ever during his recent WWE tenure. This proves that he can maintain Fast & Furious’ tone and humorous style while being more layered; therefore, Hobbs adopting some of The Rock’s WWE characteristics could make him even more entertaining.
Fast & Furious Already Has A Reason For Hobbs To Be More Savage
Hobbs Has Been Away From The Franchise For Several Years
Making a major change to Hobbs’ character could be tough to explain, but Fast & Furious 11 already has a great reason to make him more savage. His four-year absence from the franchise gives him a perfect excuse to come back with a vengeance and potentially have a personal attachment to Fast & Furious 11’s villains. Hobbs’ time away from the main story could be explained through a connection to Fast X’s secondary villain, Aimes. Aimes’ villain twist in Fast X was well executed and suggests he’ll be around for the sequel, which is the perfect reason to bring back Hobbs.
Having a more personal story with one of the villains could allow Hobbs to continue his great quips and one-liners, but it would also give him more of an edge.
Fast X never explained why he’s back, but having a personal vendetta against Aimes could be an intriguing reason. Given Dom and Dante are the focal point of the franchise’s conclusion, Hobbs returning to take down Aimes would avoid overshadowing the main story while still giving him an interesting role. Having a personal story with one of the villains could allow Hobbs to continue his great quips and one-liners, while also giving him more of an edge. This provides The Rock with the perfect reason to implement some of his heel traits while still portraying a morally good hero.
2:34 
Related Predicting The Ending Of All 13 Fast & Furious Characters In Fast 11 The Fast Saga is set to conclude with Fast & Furious 11 – or Fast X 2 – but how will Dom Toretto and his family’s stories come to a definitive end?
Why Fast & Furious Can’t Bring The Rock Back As A Villain
Hobbs Already Appeared As An Antagonist In Fast Five
Custom image by Debanjana Chowdhury
Although The Rock’s villainous tendencies worked well in the WWE, Fast & Furious can’t bring him back as an antagonist. Johnson already played the main villain of Fast Five, as Hobbs was originally an enemy of Dom and his crew before becoming an ally. Hobbs’ role in Fast Five was one of his best, but despite being the main antagonist, he always had a level of integrity. Dropping all of this to make him a villain in the final movie would be completely unnecessary, especially as the franchise needs him to remain a hero for his spinoff.
Fast & Furious 11 may end the main story, but The Rock will be part of the franchise beyond this, and altering his character so drastically wouldn’t make any sense. Instead, adding some extra edge to his character would have the same effect and would avoid stealing the thunder from Dante and Aimes. Although Fast & Furious 11 shouldn’t make him a villain, the film can still allow Hobbs to play dirty and pull some cheap tricks in order to show a grittier side, while letting him taunt his enemies when he inevitably helps save the day.
Fast & Furious 11
is scheduled to be released in theaters on April 4, 2025.
Fast and Furious 11 Fast and Furious 11 is the final movie in the Fast Saga. It reunites Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto with the rest of the cast for one last ride. However, the franchise is open for spinoff films like Hobbs & Shaw afterward.Director Louis Leterrier Release Date April 4, 2025 Distributor(s) Universal Pictures Writers Christina Hodson , Oren Uziel
Fast & Furious 11 Release Delay & Filming Start Date Confirmed By Director
Vin Diesel Already Has His Perfect Fast & Furious Replacement Franchise With 51-Year-Old Remake
The Rock’s WWE Run Means Fast & Furious 11 Must Make 1 Major Hobbs Change
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