“How dare you do that?”: Charlize Theron Faced Unexpected Backlash After $1.2 Billion Dream Movie With Vin Diesel

Charlize Theron (Atomic Blonde) appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in a 2021 episode to promote her second appearance in Vin Diesel’s long-running action franchise.

While she promoted the ninth installment – F9 (2021), she brought herself to talk about her character Cipher who was first introduced in The Fate of the Furious (2017).

Charlize Theron

The Fast & Furious franchise peaked with Furious 7 and The Fate of the Furious as they collected $1.5 billion and $1.2 billion respectively at the box office.

The feeling of joining a franchise that now stands at $7.3 billion including the collections of Fast X was surreal, according to what she told Jimmy Fallon. But, there was an initial backlash.

Charlize Theron Reflected On Fan Backlash in The Fate of the Furious

The Fate of the Furious became Charlize Theron’s top-grosser of her film career so far, but she told Jimmy Fallon that it wasn’t exactly easy at first.

She said that the Fast & Furious franchise runs on a strong family theme that fans have come to cherish over the years. Playing Cipher came with its own set of troubles for Theron.

Charlize Theron as Cipher

“The F9, the Fast & Furious franchise… it’s massive. The audience, the fans are just so passionate. When did you realize, ‘Oh… this is, I’m stepping into a whole universe here?’” — asked Fallon.

“So, when I showed up as the baddie in Fast 8… and turned Dom [Vin Diesel] against his family, I definitely had a couple of fans like, ‘How dare you do that to Dom! How dare you turn him against his family! But we want a good baddie,’” said Theron.
Over the course of the film’s theatrical run, as Charlize Theron said, the audience came to appreciate her portrayal but warned her to not do that again.

Charlize Theron’s Cipher Did The Unthinkable To Vin Diesel

Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto was finally shown to be settling with his family after dealing with Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw in Furious 7, but Charlize Theron’s Cipher came as another formidable threat in The Fate of the Furious.

Vin Diesel and Charlize Theron

Toretto had to turn on his family as she held Elsa Pataky’s Elena Neves and her son Brian Toretto captive. Charlize Theron’s performance as Cipher had been intimidating in the film and the actor reprised her role again in F9 and this year’s Fast X.

Charlize Theron is expected to reprise her role in Fast X: Part 2 which the lead actor Vin Diesel announced should arrive in theaters on April 4, 2025.

As per Collider, Fast X will be available for streaming exclusively on Peacock starting September 15.