Diesel, who stars as Dominic Toretto, said: “It’s been my dream forever to work with Rita Moreno and the fact that she’s here, playing my grandmother, makes my soul smile. I’m so blessed.”

Production on Fast & Furious is in full swing, and Diesel has been sharing updates throughout on the upcoming movie, including making the announcement that Captain Marvel actor Brie Larson would be joining the cast.

He’s also shared the casting of franchise newcomers Jason Momoa and Alan Ritchson, as well as confirmed the return of longtime Fast Family members Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Sung Kang and Nathalie Emmanuel.

However, one OG member of the family almost didn’t make it.

Diesel recently took to Instagram to explain that Jordana Brewster, who plays his on-screen sister Mia Toretto, was originally excluded from the Fast & Furious 10 script.

Brewster’s character has been an on-off part of the Fast franchise since the original movie – for instance, she was absent from The Fate of the Furious following the death of Paul Walker, with Mia romantically involved with his character Brian O’Conner. However, she returned for F9.

In a lengthy Instagram post, Diesel wrote on Wednesday 20th April: “When the F10 script came in, it excluded Mia Toretto… Someone whom I’ve attributed the brotherhood of Dom and Brian to. I was so disappointed that I couldn’t see how I could continue.”

He added: “After all, I wasn’t going to make another Fast unless Brian was back in Four… I don’t need to remind you of the petitions you sent the studio for Letty’s return at the end of Five.”

Diesel went on to reveal that it was one of his daughters who managed to get Mia added back into the script.

“Side note, you will never believe who corrected the very important role of Mia… my daughter, the Alpha Angel, who told the director very plainly and honestly ‘NO MIA NO FAST 10!’ haha,” he said.

“The irony, is that the day she was born I was filming with Jordana and Pablo and it was Jordana who I first told… profound right?”

Over the course of the past 21 years, the Fast and Furious franchise has transformed itself from a movie about street racing and boosting DVD players to one of today’s most profitable and off-the-wall cinematic experiences with a slew of sequels, spinoffs, television shows, video games, and more. During that time, the movies have also gone from moderate box office successes to absolute juggernauts, with Furious 7 and The Fate of the Furious both eclipsing the billion-dollar mark worldwide. Even F9: The Fast Saga, which was released in a pandemic brought in a large chunk of change upon release in June 2021.

Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Sung Kang And Other Members Of The Toretto Crew Are Returning

It is hard to say exactly how the ever-expanding Fast and Furious family will fit into the series’ 10th installment just yet but we do know that most of the major players introduced over the years will be back for exhilarating and one logic-defying car chase after another. In October 2020, Deadline reported that not only would Vin Diesel be returning as Dominic Toretto, but Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty Ortiz, Tyrese Gibson’s Roman Pearce, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges’ Tej Parker, Jordana Brewster’s Mia Toretto, Nathalie Emmanuel’s Ramsey, and Sung Kang’s Han Lue would all be back for another round of heart-stopping action as well.