John Cena’s Jakob Toretto was an interesting addition to the Fast and Furious franchise, but the resolution of Jakob’s story in F9 doomed Fast X. After Dwayne Johnson departed from the main Fast and Furious movies following the long-lasting feud between Vin Diesel and The Rock, John Cena essentially replaced Johnson’s role in the franchise as an action star. Also similar to The Rock’s Hobbs, Cena’s Jakob Toretto was introduced as a villain in F9, yet Jakob’s time as antagonist did not last very long. John Cena is set to return for Fast X, but the fact that Jakob was redeemed in F9 makes Fast X more predictable.
Redeemed villains who later became allies are nothing new to Fast and Furious. The Rock’s Hobbs was the antagonist in Fast Five, a character whose sole mission was to find and capture Dominic Toretto and the Fast and Furious family. However, from Fast & Furious 6 onward, Hobbs became friends with Dom and a powerful ally to Toretto’s crew. A similar thing happened with Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw, who was the villain in Furious 7 but assisted the crew in The Fate of the Furious. F9 repeated Fast and Furious’ redemption formula, which essentially wasted a brand new villain and made Jakob Toretto a far more “familiar”, predictable character rather than a potential wild card in Fast & Furious 10.
Jakob Toretto Could Have Become The Anti-Hero The Rock’s Hobbs Never Was
Given how many people still consider Hobbs the best Fast and Furious villain more than ten years after Fast Five, making The Rock’s character a Dominic Toretto ally in Fast & Furious 6 was a missed opportunity. Granted, Hobbs worked with Dom Toretto and the crew at the end of Fast Five, but that was more because of the circumstances. Hobbs could have been an anti-hero in Fast & Furious 6 – someone who was not necessarily against Toretto, but who would also not work alongside the crew at every chance. Jason Statham’s Shaw could have been that anti-hero, but Shaw didn’t return for F9. Fast and Furious had another great chance of creating an anti-hero with Jakob, but F9’s ending shows that won’t be the case.
A Fully Redeemed Jakob Toretto Makes Fast & Furious 10 More Predictable
Jakob, Dom, and Mia Toretto were all on good terms by the end of F9. Dom even gave Jakob the keys to his car, recalling how Brian’s vouch of confidence in The Fast and the Furious was what gave Dom a second chance. There is not much room for John Cena’s Jakob Toretto to be an anti-hero or a third-party player in Fast X, as that would very much contradict the end of F9. Therefore, given how John Cena is confirmed to return as Jakob Toretto in Fast X, it’s safe to say Jakob will team up with the rest of Dominic Toretto’s family just like Hobbs did in Fast & Furious 6.
The only difference between Hobbs in Fast & Furious 6 and Jakob in Fast X is that Jakob is currently on the run after assisting and betraying Cipher, though someone like Mr. Nobody or Little Nobody can easily help him. Jakob was not a particularly unique villain in F9, but the fact he was Dom’s brother flipped Toretto’s family motto and could have made for a longer redemption arc. For such an intense drama between Jakob and Dom Toretto, the redemption of the former and the forgiveness of the latter happened way too easily.
Key Release Dates
Fast X
Release Date:2023-05-19
