Dominic Toretto has become the face of the Fast and Furious franchise, but the character originally proposed to replace him would have been the total opposite of Vin Diesel’s leading role. With the movie series heading towards its conclusion, there are plenty of exciting things about Fast and Furious 11 to look forward to. However, the franchise’s lead character was almost replaced by his polar opposite. Dom was one of the protagonists in the first film alongside Brian O’Conner. They remained the two main characters of the series, but after Paul Walker passed away, Vin Diesel became the sole lead.
Fast and Furious has plenty of characters with huge roles and the film series even created its own spinoff, allowing other characters to take center stage. This proves that there are other personalities outside of Dom and Brian capable of leading the franchise, with an all-female Fast and Furious spinoff being proposed. Having such an interesting roster of characters has helped create so many fun films, but it might have been different had one original plan panned out. Diesel’s character has become iconic, but his originally proposed replacement is also a fan favorite who would’ve set a very different tone.
Roman Pearce Was Introduced As Dominic Toretto’s Replacement
Although Dominic Toretto has been a major character throughout most Fast and Furious films, he was originally supposed to be replaced by Roman Pearce in 2 Fast 2 Furious. Roman was introduced as Brian’s childhood friend and played a major part in the second film, setting him up to be a big character in future movies. His chemistry with Brian made him an intriguing character that fit the Fast and Furious universe well. Despite Diesel playing a prominent role in the first film, Dom did not feature in the sequel, which instantly elevated Roman’s significance in the second movie.
Roman was the co-lead of the sequel, but this ultimately proved the Fast and Furious movies couldn’t easily move on without Dom Toretto. 2 Fast 2 Furious is regarded as one of the weakest films in the franchise, and although Tyrese Gibson’s performance was solid, he found a better role down the line. Dom’s presence was sorely missed, and his cameo at the end of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift was a sign of his return. While Roman is one of the most fun characters in the series, he is too different from Dom to drive the story.
Fast & Furious Already Has The Perfect Replacement For Vin Diesel (& It’s Toretto Himself)
The Fast and Furious film franchise needs to end, but that doesn’t mean new stories can’t be made, even ones about the original characters.
Roman As Dom’s Replacement Only Lasted 1 Movie (Because Of Fast Five)
Replacing Dom Toretto with Roman only lasted one movie because of Fast Five. Tokyo Drift barely included any central characters from the series and Dom was back in Fast and Furious 4, while Roman didn’t appear. Fast Five changed Roman to a comic relief character as it was the first movie in the franchise to feature both Roman and Dom. Gibson is arguably better suited to the comedy-orientated role, as he plays one of the most hilarious Fast and Furious characters, having a great dynamic with Ludacris’ character Tej. However, this shift did move Roman into a more supporting role.
Rather than replacing Dom, Roman was now part of the crew and provided more lighthearted moments. While Dom was a serious family man, the new version of Roman was full of quips and jokes. Roman still has a more comedic side in 2 Fast 2 Furious, but he is wiser and wittier with his delivery. From Fast Five onward, he is usually at the end of the punchlines and Gibson is able to embrace this and deliver a good performance, but having him lead the Fast and Furious franchise would’ve been strange given how different he is from Dom.
