Image via Fast & Furious 6/Universal Pictures.

Michelle Rodriguez, best known as Letty in The Fast and the Furious franchise, is perhaps the number two fan of the beloved vroom vroom series (second only to her co-star Vin Diesel), but that doesn’t mean that she’s satisfied with her character’s jump seat storylines.


On a new Instagram post about the DVD release of The Fate of the Furious (the eighth Fast and the Furious film), Rodriguez captioned:

F8 is out digitally today, I hope they decide to show some love to the women of the franchise on the next one. Or I just might have to say goodbye to a loved franchise. It’s been a good ride & Im grateful for the opportunity the fans & studio have provided over the years...One Love.


As the series has continued, women have played an increasingly larger role (backwards! and in heels!), with Rodriguez herself doing major car stunts and a—dare I say?—iconic fight scene with MMA fighter Ronda Rousey.

However, the only other woman currently in the core cast—or “family” in Fast and the Furious parlance—is Game of Thrones’ Nathalie Emmanuel and, while both she and Rodriguez feature prominently in the films, they mostly serve as motivation or support for the male characters.

The cast of The Fate of the Furious boasted the names of female heavy hitters such as Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren, the latter of which specifically asked Vin Diesel for a role in the film, demonstrating that these films are more progressive than franchises featuring barely dressed drag race flag girls typically are. But it’s still far away from being egalitarian when it comes to doing anything other than car stunts and fawning over Vin Diesel and Paul Walker (RIP)—two tasks regulated to the ensemble.

The Fast and the Furious movies are fun, exciting, and, yes, pretty dumb, but they could (and should) be fun, exciting, and pretty dumb...but with better roles for women.


Also, the Rock and Jason Statham should kiss.