Fast and Furious 11is set to conclude the long-running franchise after more than two decades of high-octane filmmaking, but the film’s most obvious choice for the “big bad” final villain isn’t actually the most interesting.Fast X’s endingwas a huge cliffhanger that seemed to give audiences a clear idea of what direction the final movie is taking, butthere’s every possibility thatFast & Furious 11could subvert expectationsand bring a different villain into the spotlight.
Fast & Furious 11will likely break the franchise’s traditionof bringing new villains into every sequel, focusing instead on Dante Reyes as his pursuit of revenge gets more and more dangerous for Dom and the gang. However, if theFast and Furioussaga wants to stick to its formula and introduce a “new” villain, there’s a perfect compromise to be made. Instead of instituting a totally new character,the film should take an existing character that was wasted inFast Xand elevate him to the next big villain.
I Can’t Wait To See Alan Ritchson As A Proper Villain In Fast & Furious 11
His Character Shows Plenty Of Potential
Alan Ritchson made hisFast and Furiousdebut inFast Xas Aimes, the leader of the Agency following Mr. Nobody’s presumed death. The character soonturned out to be an undercover member of the Reyes crime family, working alongside Dante Reyes to turn the Agency against Toretto and wipe out some of his most trusted allies. In the final moments ofFast X, Aimes was responsible for shooting down the plane that was transporting Roman, Tej, Han and Ramsay. Thesecharacters’ fates afterFast Xremain unknown.
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Alongside Dante, Aimes could turn out to be a bigger threat to Dom and his friends than anybody expected. The character was initially introduced as a supporting player, merely a tool for Dante to work his way inside the Agency - but his presumed murder of four important characters makes him immediately more formidable.His role can only get bigger inFast & Furious 11,and Ritchson will surely bring a tangible sense of danger to the already sinister Aimes.
Alan Ritchson’s Aimes Didn’t Get To Do Much In Fast X
The Character Was Severely Underused
Although Ritchson’s performance was strong andthe character showed some real potential, Aimes’ role inFast Xwas ultimately much smaller than expected. He mostly worked in the background, moving the pieces around the chess board while Dante Reyes stole the spotlight. It was a fairly disappointing decision that essentially wasted the character, making him the same as any other member of the crime family. If he’s going to shine in the future, Aimes needs a stronger personality that gives audiences a reason to fear him and root against him.
While Dante occupies the bolder and more outlandish corner of the crime family, Aimes could easily become the more reckless, violent face of the operation.
Alan Ritchson nailed his performance as Jack Reacherin Amazon’s hit TV series, and he could bring many of these key traits to his role inFast & Furious 11. He’s strong, intimidating, andmore observant than his physicality might suggest, which makes him a hugely threatening force whenever he’s on-screen. While Dante occupies the bolder and more outlandish corner of the crime family, Aimes could easily become the more reckless, violent face of the operation.
Will There Be Enough Time For Alan Ritchson’s Villain To Shine In Fast 11?
Dante Still Needs His Story To Be Told
However, turning Aimes into a full-time villain at this point in the franchise could be a risky decision. There’s so much drama, so many character dynamics, and so many tangled plot threads that still need to be resolved in the final installment of this series - occupying time with a whole new villain could easily detract from that.Fast X’s cliffhanger ending left so many questions unanswered, and the next film needs to answer these immediately before wrapping up the overarching narratives that have been built up over two decades of storytelling.There may not be room for Aimes to shine.
Dante isFast & Furious’ best villain yet, and he’sone of the few things that worked really well inFast X. Even if the original plan was to bring Aimes into the spotlight, it’s hard to imagine that the writers could waste such an obvious opportunity following the positive reception to his character. There’s also plenty to explore about his feud with Hobbs, which was teased at the end ofFast X.The final movie in theFast and Furiousfranchise would need to be extremely long in order to resolve all these plot points while introducing a new villain.
Fast and Furious 11
Cast
Fast X: Part 2 is the final movie in the Fast Saga. It reunites Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto with the rest of the cast for one last ride. However, the franchise is open for spinoff films like Hobbs & Shaw afterward.
