This Marvel Star Nearly Became Fast X’s Big Bad Instead of Jason Momoa

File this one under great what-if casting: Jamie Foxx was almost the big bad of Fast X. Yep, before Jason Momoa swaggered in as Dante, the franchise had its eye on the Oscar winner and Spider-Man: No Way Home scene-stealer to shake up Dom Toretto's world.

Where this came from

The nugget comes from 'Welcome to the Family,' a new book by Barry Hertz, the award-winning Chief Film Critic for The Globe and Mail. In it, Hertz says the team behind 2021's F9 wrote a post-credits tease hoping to introduce Foxx as a new villain heading into Fast 10. This is not a studio announcement or a rumor mill special — it's a peek straight from people who were in the room, relayed publicly via Hertz's book.

'We wrote post-credit button scenes for quite a few different characters in F9, including actors that we hoped would play the villains in Fast 10—people who weren't even in these movies, who you just hoped to see. I think we wrote eight different buttons for F9 until going with the one with Jason Statham.'

That quote is from F9 co-writer Daniel Casey, as recounted in the book. Translation: they generated a bunch of end-credits stingers (those quick tags after the movie) to set up potential players for the next film, and Jamie Foxx was one of the swings. Ultimately, the version that made it to theaters is the one with Jason Statham.

So why didn't it happen?

Hertz's book stops short of saying whether any real talks happened with Foxx, and it doesn't specify who he would have played. It was a hope, not a signed deal. By the time Fast X hit theaters in 2023, the villain role belonged to Jason Momoa, who played Dante Reyes — son of Hernan Reyes, the big bad from Fast Five.

What this would have changed

If Foxx had taken the gig, he'd likely have been a totally different flavor of antagonist than Momoa's operatic chaos agent. Given Foxx's age and background, the character itself probably wouldn't have been Dante. This is one of those behind-the-scenes footnotes that makes you rethink the version we ended up with.

• 2021: While crafting F9, the team writes multiple post-credits tags, including one designed to introduce Jamie Foxx as a future villain; they ultimately release the Jason Statham stinger.
• 2023: Fast X arrives with Jason Momoa as Dante Reyes, the main antagonist.
• Now: Barry Hertz's book surfaces the Foxx plan; no confirmation of concrete talks and no character name attached.

Bottom line: Foxx as the Fast X villain was more than a fan wish, less than a done deal — and another reminder that these movies are constantly remixing themselves right up until the last minute.