Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for Fast X.John Cena spent the majority of his professional wrestling career playing a good guy – a babyface, to use wrestling parlance – and with good reason. He is a charisma machine, a living embodiment of Captain America spirit. Having debuted in the Fast and Furious saga as a villain, it was inevitable he would very quickly join the family as an ally. And being an actual Toretto – Jakob Toretto, the definitely-not-retconned brother of Dominic (Vin Diesel) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) – made it all the better.
But in the latest film in the franchise, Fast X, we’re shown something that we’ve not yet seen properly in the series – an actual sacrifice made for the good of the family, and at the cost of a life. That’s the decision Cena’s character Jakob makes, and he’s been explaining why he thought the decision was the correct one.
In the film’s climactic scene, Jakob – who has been tasked with looking after Dom’s son, Brian – loses the kid but thanks to some ace driving and ingenuity, is able to help Dom retrieve him. However, Dante’s forces are approaching in numbers so vast that the Toretto boys are outnumbered, so Jakob propels his cannon-equipped car towards the convoy, blowing up the lot of them and sacrificing himself for the good of the family.
RELATED: ‘Fast X’ Director Louis Leterrier On Why [SPOILER] Had to Die
Having only come into the franchise in the previous installment, F9, one could forgive Cena for railing against the decision to kill off his character – although, in the Fast world, if we don’t see a body, is anybody ever really gone? However, the 16-time WWE World Champion is nothing if not a team player, and instead of being hurt by the suggestion from director Louis Leterrier, saw it as a massive opportunity to propel the story forward in the best direction for the rest of the characters, as he explained in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
You can watch our interview with Fast X star Michelle Rodriguez here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
