Michelle Rodriguez Joins Fast & Furious 9 After Studio Agrees To Bring On Female Writer

In 2017, actress Michelle Rodriguez said she might quit the Fast & Furious franchise if the producers do not "show some love to the women" for the franchise going forward. Now, she's decided to come back for Fast & Furious 9 because the producers hired a female writer.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Rodriguez said about the Fast & Furious series, "I felt like there was not enough of a female voice in the franchise."

Rodriguez said Universal Pictures executive Donna Langley agreed that the Fast & Furious franchise needed to do better, and it was decided to hire a female writer. "If I'm coming back, I really want there to be a female writer to give it a female voice. And finally, they showed me some love, and said yeah!" Rodriguez recalled.

The actress went on to say that she was tired of having to re-write lines that men wrote for her to say on the Fast & Furious series. Rodriguez didn't say who the female writer joining Fast & Furious 9 is, but that information should become known in due time.

Rodriguez and Vin Diesel are the only remaining members of the Fast & Furious original cast still involved in the series, so it would have been a big deal if she left.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2017, Rodriguez talked about the "male-dominated environment" that she works in for the Fast & Furious series. "My heart doesn't feel right doing this in front of millions of people, so I can always oblige myself and depart because money, to me, isn't as important as my lines that you're not allowed to cross," she said.

The next Fast & Furious movie is the spin-off Hobbs & Shaw starring The Rock and Jason Statham. Fast & Furious 9 with Michelle Rodriguez is slated for 2020.