If you can remember back to the before times, January 31, 2020, to be exact, the cast of F9 dropped the movie’s first trailer during a concert event. Cardi B was one of the performers, and it was revealed to fans that she also had a secret role in the film. A year and a half later, F9 crushed at the box office is now gearing up for its home release, which includes a Director’s Cut with an additional Cardi B scene and future possibility for her character.
Cardi B’s character Leysa helps Dom (Vin Diesel) escape after a fight with Jakob (John Cena). It’s clear that Leysa and Dom know each other, but not so obvious how she knew he would need the assist. Justin Lin’s Director’s Cut provides an answer by introducing Leysa a bit sooner. When Queenie (Helen Mirren) drops Dom off to meet Jacob, Leysa is among the partiers outside the building. She and Dom talk briefly, so when we see her again in the truck, we understand that she was there to help out from the beginning, enlisted by Queenie.
For those who didn’t quite catch Leysa and Dom’s prior connection from their brief conversation, director Justin Lin provides more detail in his commentary track available with the home release of F9. It turns out that Cardi B’s Leysa has a stronger connection to the Fast family than we may have thought, and Lin hopes he can explore more of her story in the future. Here’s what he says in his commentary:
This is really a big easter egg for the fans. I think the fans that maybe have not followed the Fast Saga, they’ll know her as someone that’s working with Queenie, that was probably in the white dress, that was planted there to help Dom out. But she’s actually the sister of Cara. Cara is Han’s significant other in Fast 4 and they used to, in the DR, they would steal gas for the people. So there was a whole connection there that I talked to Vin about and so now Cardi has been introduced in our franchise as a character that has basically been around since Fast 4. So I’m hoping that there will be an opportunity for us to explore that character more.
As the Fast universe expands, it’s fun to see new characters get added into the mix who actually have been there all along. Similar to how John Cena’s Jakob existed from the beginning but isn’t introduced to the story until F9, Cardi B’s Leysa has been around since Fast and Furious. I’m totally down to see more Cardi B in future Fast Saga stories!
Another fun nugget from Cardi B’s additional scene in the Director’s Cut (beyond looking flawless in a stunning white dress) is one of her lyrics added to the script. Leysa greets Dom by asking, “Why is the best fruit always forbidden?” which fans will recognize as a popular lyric from Cardi B’s hit song “Girls Like You” with Maroon 5.
F9’s Director’s Cut has a runtime of a hundred forty-nine minutes. That’s about six minutes longer than the theatrical version, which may not sound like a lot, but when you factor in some scenes being 15-30 seconds, it’s quite a bit of extra footage that provides context for the larger film. You can get the Director’s Cut, feature commentary, and so much more when F9 zooms onto 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD September 21.
