Michelle Rodriguez is a veteran of the “Fast & Furious” franchise. She’s been playing the role of Letty Rodriguez for the past 20 years. When seasoned franchise director Justin Lin walked out of production due to a disagreement with lead star Vin Diesel, the franchise was left in a bad place. Louis Letterier was brought in to direct the film, quickly catching up to speed and trying to avoid any more production delays.

In a new interview, Rodriguez praised Letterier, claiming that he brought along some much-needed excitement to the franchise.

Rodriguez was at Comic-Con promoting “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.” Among her many interviews, she took a moment to discuss her work in the Fast & Furious films, and the complicated road to finding a new director to who could get things back in order. “This Fast and Furious is the French Fast and Furious,” she said to The Hollywood Reporter. “Our special effects team, all of the guys who are doing the fights, they’re all French. Our second AD is French. Our director’s French. It’s like the French takeover, dude.”

Letterier has previously directed TV series like “Lupin” and “Tycoon”, and has also directed action and CGI-heavy films like “Transporter 2” and “Clash of the Titans.” Rodriguez says his excitement is infectious and that it has done wonders for the Furious franchise and the morale of the cast & crew. “He came with all this energy of love. We haven’t had that in Fast and Furious for a very long time where we get somebody excited who’s a real fan and who really wants to take it places that it hasn’t gone before. We’ve been at it for 20 years, bro. After all that time, you get jaded and kind of forget what you do it for [until] a director like Louis comes in and reminds you, ‘This is beautiful. Let’s go make magic.’ We’re so lucky to have him, bro.”

©GettyImages

Justin Lin exited “Fast X” after a dispute with lead star Vin Diesel. The Hollywood Reporter shares that the director walked out of the film mid-production due to a demanding work environment, with constantly changing targets and locations, and having to deal with budget cuts and star demands. “Justin finally had enough and said, ‘This movie is not worth my mental health,‘” said a source.

Justin Lin has directed five “Fast & Furious” movies, more than any other director involved in the franchise. The “Fast & Furious” films are the largest Universal Studios production and one that comes with a lot of pressure to make money and maintain its legacy.