John Cena hopes to return for another Fast movie after Fast & Furious 9. The actor-turned wrestler officially joins the Fast & Furious family in the upcoming sequel, which kicked off its marketing this past week. As seen in the official trailer, Cena stars as Jakob, Dominic Toretto’s forsaken brother and a dangerous loner with the skills of an assassin, a master thief, and (of course) a high-performance driver all wrapped up in one. And judging by the early footage, he’s clearly got a bone to pick with his older sibling, for as-yet unknown reasons.

Fans might be busy trying to figure out the logistics of Dom having a brother (one he’s never made reference to before), but the idea is in keeping with the Fast & Furious franchise’s themes about family and what that term really means. The property is also big on the idea that anyone can better themselves, with characters like Luke Hobbs, Deckard Shaw, and even (arguably) Dom himself having started out as antagonists before becoming more heroic. If Cena gets his way, there might be a similar fate in store for Jakob down the line.

Speaking to MTV International, Cena said he “would be grateful for a place at the table” in Fast & Furious 10, adding he hopes Fast & Furious 9 is “a tremendous success”. And before anyone accuses him of having spoiled Jakob’s fate in the film, Cena was quick to clarify he’s “just putting my thoughts out into the universe. Because if I put them out into the universe, maybe they will actually become reality. Maybe John Cena could be in Fast 10, maybe Justin [Lin] could direct it, I don’t know!”

The Fast & Furious 9 marketing has positioned Jakob as the film’s main threat, but that doesn’t mean he’ll die by the end of the film. He wouldn’t be the first Fast & Furious antagonist to survive beyond a single movie, either. As mentioned, Deckard Shaw survived long enough to become an antihero in last year’s Hobbs & Shaw spinoff, and even his brother, Owen, came back in The Fate of the Furious after appearing to meet his end in Fast & Furious 6. Fate of the Furious villain Cipher (Charlize Theron) is also back for Fast & Furious 9 and appears to be manipulating Jakob into doing her evil bidding. It wouldn’t come as a shock if Dom succeeded in getting his brother to see the light and turn on the cyber-terrorist by the end of the film.

Even dying doesn’t mean much, when it comes to preventing Fast & Furious characters from coming back in future sequels (see also: Han’s return in Fast & Furious 9). Tentatively, the plan is for the core movies in the series to end with Fast & Furious 10, with longtime helmsman and Fast & Furious 9 director Justin Lin supposedly already lined up to call the shots. It would make sense to explore the thread about Dom and Jakob over the course of two films, rather than trying to wrap the entire subplot up in a single go. If so, Cena may yet get his wish and join the rest of Dom’s crew for their final ride after Fast & Furious 9.

Source: MTV International

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