While a certain DC character made her iconic, it’s her performance as Gisele in Fast Five that made Gal Gadot a star. The success of The Fast And The Furious franchise is something that could never have been planned, especially when looking back on its journey. The first movie was a modestly budgeted riff on Point Break that provided breakout roles for Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, but only the latter returned for 2003’s 2 Fast 2 Furious. The series appeared more or less done by the time The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift came along, which featured none of the original cast in lead roles. Diesel was eventually convinced to make a cameo - in exchange for the rights to Riddick character - which got fans excited about another entry.
The original cast all returned for 2009’s Fast & Furious and the series has skyrocketed ever since. They’re now huge blockbuster events with increasingly outlandish action and foes. It also spawned a spinoff with Hobbs & Shaw, which paired Dwayne Johnson’s hulking agent with Jason Statham’s gruff antihero. The box-office didn’t quite reach peak Fast & Furious levels, but it returned a healthy profit none the less.
Some starry names have appeared throughout the series too, with Fast & Furious providing Gal Gadot with her first movie role as Gisele Yashar. Gisele’s role in the fourth movie was relatively minor and she worked for main antagonist Braga. She formed a connection with Dom (Diesel) during the story, who later saves her life. This is a big reason she returned for Fast Five, where she’s recruited for the central heist. The fifth movie tossed up the series formula, moving from street racing to heist movie and putting more of an emphasis on the ensemble.
Gal Gadot had a habit of stealing her scenes in Fast Five, with Gisele using her brains, beauty, and brawn. Her relationship with Han also formed a surprisingly sweet subplot too. That continued into Fast & Furious 6, with their romance coming to a tragic end when she sacrifices herself to save his life. It was already clear from Gadot’s Fast Five performance that was on track to be a star, and it wasn’t long until she was cast as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice.
While the film itself attracted divided responses, Gal Gadot would make the character iconic in her solo Wonder Woman. Gisele is a character a lot of fans love, but while the series is prone to ridiculous twists, it’s unlikely her demise will be retconned to bring her back. Gadot did a film a cameo for Furious 7 which revealed she was the one who saved Letty’s (Michelle Rodriguez) life during Fast & Furious, though this was cut from the final version. Fast Five introduced a lot of key elements to the franchise, including Dwayne Johnson’s Hobbs, but it was also proved Gal Gadot was about to breakthrough in a big way.
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