The Fast & Furious franchise is famously all about family (and fast cars). While Fast X, the latest movie in the long-running saga, brings back just about all of the main staples — Dom (Vin Diesel), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), Han (Sung Kang) among them — there are a few new faces arriving on the scene. One is the character Tess.
Who is Tess? As our heroes have to deal with new villain Dante (Jason Momoa), is she an ally or a new enemy? And does she have any connections to the Fast & Furious franchise's past?
We're breaking down just who Tess is in Fast X right here. Heads up, we are going to be discussing some key Fast X spoilers.
Who is Tess in Fast X?
Tess is a member of the Agency, the secret government organization that the Toretto clan has been working with for the last handful of movies. We first see her meeting with Aimes (Alan Ritchson) to discuss the aftermath of the explosion in Rome that Dom and his team helped save, though are now being blamed for. Aimes believes that Dom and his team have gone rogue and reverted back to their criminal ways, while Tess believes they need to be given the benefit of the doubt.
She's overruled however, but soon takes it upon herself to track Dom down and help however she can.
Who plays Tess in Fast X?
Tess is portrayed by Brie Larson. This is the second major franchise that the Oscar-winner (Best Actress for Room) is a part of, as she also stars as Captain Marvel in the MCU, with the brand new movie The Marvels set to hit theaters in November. Some of Larson's other notable roles have included Just Mercy, The Glass Castle, Kong: Skull Island, Trainwreck, Short Term 12 and 21 Jump Street.
What is Tess' connection to the Fast & Furious franchise?
There's a good reason that Tess wants to help Dom and his crew, because that's what her father would have done. She is the daughter of Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) who disappeared in F9 and in Fast X no one is sure if he is dead or in hiding. So when Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood) goes out of commission in this movie, Tess attempts to take up the mantle, at least in spirit, as she is not a fan when Aimes mockingly refers to her as "Little Miss Nobody."
What happens to Tess in Fast X?
After Tess fails to make her case with Aimes, she goes in search of Dom herself, with a little bit of help from God's Eye, the device that Ramsey invented a few movies back that allows people to find anyone just about anywhere in the world. She offers her help to Dom, who wants her to get Letty out of the blacksite prison she was taken to after Rome. Tess says it's impossible, but Dom tells her she needs to have some faith, sliding across his cross necklace to her.
Tess then goes to see Letty, telling her she cut the audio feed in the cell so they could talk freely, though the video feed was still on. To get Letty to trust her, Tess shows her Dom's cross. The plan to get Letty out requires Tess to make it look like Letty is taking her hostage, stabbing her in the shoulder in the process. The injury gets Letty to taken to the medical wing, where she ultimately meets up with Cipher to escape.
The next time we see Tess she is back trying to help Dom, arriving just in the nick of time as Dante has him cornered on a bridge in Brazil. However, Dante turns the tables on them all as a sniper in a helicopter shows up, shooting Tess in the shoulder. Dante takes the God's Eye off of Tess and then makes his escape, promising to use the tech to find Dom's son. Before Dom heads off to the rescue, he helps Tess get into the car of Isabel (Daniela Melchior), Elena's younger sister, who takes Tess to the hospital.
Is Tess going to be in the next Fast & Furious movie?
Tess getting escorted to the hospital is the last we see of her in Fast X. While getting shot certainly sucks, all indications are that she is going to survive her injury. With the next movie, which we'll just call Fast 11 for simplicity, set to continue the story of Fast X, there is a very good chance that Brie Larson's Tess makes another appearance; though technically there has been no casting announcements for the upcoming movie.
If a promo video for Fast X centering on Larson is any indication, it certainly seems like she would be eager to be back for future Fast & Furious movies if given the chance.
Fast X is now playing exclusively in movie theaters.
