There’s always room at the table for Dom Toretto’s family in Fast & Furious – but for Vin Diesel, one action star was a step too far.
The Fast Saga was first conceived as a Point Break-lite actioner about street racing and boosting DVD players. Diesel had his breakout performance in Pitch Black, but he wasn’t exactly a star – this was a movie for up-and-comers, and it made them famous across the world.
Ten years after the franchise’s debut, Fast Five marked a full-on transformation into action spectaculars, with all-star names like Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Kurt Russell, and Charlize Theron hopping in and out to chew the scenery and hit the NOS.
However, Diesel basically has a controlling stake in the creative strategy of the series – to the point he refused to let an icon join the cast.
Vin Diesel said no to Jean-Claude Van Damme in Fast & Furious
Jean-Claude Van Damme, the butt-kicking muscles from Brussels, wanted to be in the Fast & Furious franchise – but Vin Diesel wouldn’t allow it.
It’s unclear exactly which movie he would have appeared in, but in a new interview with The Telegraph, Van Damme revealed: “They want me in Fast & Furious… but Vin Diesel said, ‘No, I don’t want him.’”
The Bloodsport star didn’t elaborate further, so it’ll remain a mystery why Diesel turned him down – however, there is precedent for a star rubbing him the wrong way. Just look at the years-long beef between Diesel and The Rock, which now appears to have cooled with Johnson’s post-credits appearance in Fast X.
Van Damme’s last mainstream role was in The Expendables 2 in 2012, in which he played its villain, Vilain. He was killed off, but Sylvester Stallone apparently considered the idea of bringing him back as the character’s twin brother, Claude, in a nod to Double Impact. “Yeah! That’s what Stallone told me,” he told the outlet.
This could be a tease, though. After all, there’s long been theories of a secret main villain at the heart of the Fast Saga, the “anthesis of Dom” – perhaps Van Damme could be the final boss behind the curtain, and Diesel wanted to save him for that big reveal. Or, maybe, he just doesn’t care about being the biggest star in the world anymore.