Belcalis “Cardi B” Almánzar joined Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, John Cena, and other cast members for the F9 film. According to Diesel, the “Up” rapper will be in the next Fast & Furious installment too.
Vin Diesel spoke to Entertainment Tonight at the F9 world premiere in Los Angeles, and he was asked about Cardi B possibly returning for the next sequel. It appears the character of Leysa will be back for F10.
“We are very much excited to evolve her character and to expand it to the finale,” stated Diesel. “She made it just in time. She came in Fast 9 just in time.”
In 2019, Vin Diesel revealed Cardi B was appearing in the ninth edition of Fast & Furious. Diesel posted an Instagram video from the set of F9 in the United Kingdom. Cardi later performed at “The Road To F9 Concert & Trailer Drop” event last year.
“I was a little over doing short appearances in films, but I’m like, ‘It’s freaking Fast & Furious.’ So I was like, ‘Get me there. Put me on a plane,’” said Cardi B in an F9 featurette. The Invasion of Privacy album creator previously acted in the Being Mary Jane television series and the Hustlers movie.
F9 director Justin Lin told ET, “I love Cardi, you know? I mean, it’s amazing she showed up and within a minute she’s part of the family, right? And I love how when I got together with her, her and Vin were talking about the character because she’s actually really embedded into the overall universe, she’s been around for a long time and this is just the first time we are seeing her, so I’m really excited to explore that character of her.”
F9 was originally scheduled to hit theaters in April 2020. Universal Pictures decided to delay the release date due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The motion picture debuted in Hong Kong and South Korea on May 19. It is set to arrive in the United States on June 25.