Tyrese's Roman Pearce has been a part of the Fast Five - throwing out the original plan for the character. After 2 Fast 2 Furious failed at the box office, the Fast and Furious franchise shifted to something completely different in Tokyo Drift – a high school movie featuring all new characters set in Tokyo. However, Fast & Furious (2009) brought Vin Diesel and Paul Walker back for a more direct sequel to The Fast and the Furious, followed by different worlds colliding in Fast Five's ensemble cast of actors from all the four previous movies in the saga.
While it is difficult now to imagine an actor wanting to exit the highly successful Fast and Furious franchise - except for The Rock after his feud with Vin Diesel - that was not always the case. Vin Diesel, who played Dominic Toretto in The Fast and the Furious, did not return for 2 Fast 2 Furious and only appeared in Tokyo Drift as a cameo in exchange for the theatrical rights of Riddick. Paul Walker, who played Brian in The Fast and The Furious and 2 Fast 2 Furious, was not in Tokyo Drift – although that had more to do with the studios' plans for a different story than with the actor's wishes.
One positive outcome of this inconsistency in the early Fast and Furious films is that the franchise often had to come out with new, interesting characters that could potentially carry on the saga. This is exemplified by Roman Pearce in 2 Fast 2 Furious, as the character would have never been created had Vin Diesel not skipped the sequel. Likewise, had Tokyo Drift been a Dom Toretto movie as it was originally planned, then Sung Kang's fan-favorite Han might have never become a part of Fast and Furious. Fortunately, Fast Five managed to bring together all the different corners of the saga thanks to its heist-crew storyline. The price, however, was that many of the characters other than Brian and Dom had their personalities slightly changed or, in the case of Roman Pearce, completely altered to suit the needs of the movie better.
Roman Was Supposed To Be Dom Toretto's Replacement
Vin Diesel was afraid that an underwhelming Fast and Furious sequel could damage the first movie, and thus he decided not to return for 2 Fast 2 Furious. Paul Walker was signed to return as Brian, but the producers wanted to keep at least the duo-dynamic from The Fast and The Furious – even without Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto. A Toretto recast was never considered, as it would be almost impossible to sell a new actor playing one of Vin Diesel's breakout roles, meaning that a new character had to be written for the film. That is how Roman Pearce, who ended up being played by Tyrese, came to be.
Roman was introduced as Brian's childhood friend, who was currently serving time for stealing cars. Roman was not too happy with reuniting with Brian at the beginning of 2 Fast 2 Furious, as he judged his former friend for "switching sides" by becoming a policeman and never offering any help. This bitterness with which Roman welcomed Brian set the tone for what the character was going to be like in the rest of the movie – a person of strong temper who would be ready for whatever mission if it meant his pardon. 2 Fast 2 Furious' Roman Pearce was also constantly teasing other characters, especially Brian, and some of the movies' best moments came from Tyrese's comedy time.
How Fast Five Changed Roman
While Roman continued to be a lot of fun in Fast Five, the type of humor written for the character was now completely different. In 2 Fast 2 Furious, Roman laughed at the other characters – always having the upper hand on a joke or on a confrontation. However, from Fast Five onwards, Roman was now the target of the jokes. In fact, Roman became Fast and Furious' comedic relief, a role that he continued to play in all other subsequent Fast and Furious movies. Another major change in the character is that, In 2 Fast 2 Furious, Roman was fearless and always up for the most dangerous tasks, whereas in Fast Five and beyond, he is written as the self-aware, almost coward member of Dom Toretto's crew.
Roman Was A Better Character In 2 Fast 2 Furious
Roman's interactions with Tej and Ramsey - plus the way he is the only Fast and Furious character who seems to be aware of how ridiculous their lives have become - have made for some funny moments in the more recent movies. That said, when compared to 2 Fast 2 Furious' Roman, the current Roman Pearce is a far less entertaining character. Roman's original reckless attitude made him the perfect opposite of Brian, and the way he was not afraid of taking shots at anyone could have made for some hilarious interactions with Dominic Toretto in Fast Five. Unfortunately, that character seems to have got lost as the Fast and Furious cast grew bigger after Fast Five, demanding less screentime for each particular character and causing some of them to become parodies of how they were initially written.
