Editing 2 Fast 2 Furious (section)

===Pre-production===
[[File:PaulWalkerEdit-1.jpg|thumb|[[Paul Walker]] returned as [[Brian O'Conner]] in ''2 Fast 2 Furious''.]]
Vin Diesel was offered $25 million to return in the sequel as [[Dominic Toretto]].<ref name="furiousmind"/> However, he refused after reading the screenplay as he felt that its potential was inferior compared to that of its predecessor; rather, he chose to appear in ''[[The Chronicles of Riddick]]'' instead.<ref name="uproxx"/> According to ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' magazine in 2015 he was less taken with what the screenwriters had in mind for the film, "They didn't take a [[Francis Ford Coppola]] approach to it. They approached it like they did sequels in the '80s and '90s, when they would drum up a new story unrelated for the most part, and slap the same name on it."<ref name="furiousmind">{{cite news|last1=Setoodeh|first1=Ramin|title=Vin Diesel: A 'Furious' Mind|url=http://feature.variety.com/vin-diesel-a-furious-mind/|access-date=July 21, 2017|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|archive-date=August 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805124408/http://feature.variety.com/vin-diesel-a-furious-mind/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, Diesel reflected on his decision in a July 2014 report from [[Uproxx]], saying: "I would've said, 'Don't walk away from it just because the script sucked in ''2 Fast 2 Furious'' because there's an obligation to the audience to fight, no matter what, to make that film as good as possible.' ... I might have had a little bit more patience or belief in the long-term of it."<ref name="uproxx">{{cite news|last1=Stice|first1=Joel|title=Why Vin Diesel Turned Down ''2 Fast 2 Furious'' And Six Other Popular Roles|url=http://uproxx.com/up/vin-diesel-2-fast-2-furious-movie-roles/|access-date=July 21, 2017|work=[[Uproxx]]|publisher=Woven Digital|date=July 18, 2017|archive-date=July 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720180302/http://uproxx.com/up/vin-diesel-2-fast-2-furious-movie-roles/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Paul Walker]], who had just finished ''[[Timeline (2003 film)|Timeline]]'' at the time, reprised his role in the second picture as [[Brian O'Conner]]. [[Tyrese Gibson]], then known [[mononym]]ously as Tyrese, also became a part of the cast having previously acted in Singleton's ''[[Baby Boy (film)|Baby Boy]]'', which was the singer's feature film acting debut; he portrayed [[Roman Pearce]].<ref name="prodcast">{{cite news|title=2 Fast 2 Furious - Production Notes (About the Cast)|url=http://www.contactmusic.com/pages/2fast2furiouscastx10x06x03|access-date=July 21, 2017|website=[[Contactmusic.com]]|publisher=Universal Pictures|archive-date=July 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729132826/http://www.contactmusic.com/pages/2fast2furiouscastx10x06x03|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Ja Rule]], another prominent rap artist who appeared in ''The Fast and the Furious'' as Edwin, was originally tapped to reprise his role. Ja Rule was offered $500,000 for the role, which was more than what he had been paid to appear in ''The Fast and the Furious'', $15,000. According to Singleton, "Ja got too big for himself. He turned it down. He turned down a half a million dollars. ... He was acting like he was too big to be in the sequel. He wouldn't return calls." Ja Rule later stated in an interview in 2021 that he was already obligated to go on tour at the time after [[Vin Diesel]] and [[Rob Cohen]] both declined to be in the movie. Ja Rule had to make the decision: to take the half a million dollars for the second Fast and Furious film or thirteen to fourteen million dollars on tour.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjEz4GZCUr4|title=Ja Rule On Why He Left Fast & Furious After John Singleton Took Over|website=[[YouTube]] |date=December 18, 2021 }}</ref>

The character of [[Tej Parker]] was then created, at first with [[Redman (rapper)|Redman]] in mind, however, when Redman also had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with his own show [[Method & Red]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-03-29 |title=2 Fast 2 Furious review - fun, but shallow sequel - Lyles Movie Files |url=https://lylesmoviefiles.com/2015/03/29/2-fast-2-furious-review-fun-but-shallow-sequel/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241218153823/https://lylesmoviefiles.com/2015/03/29/2-fast-2-furious-review-fun-but-shallow-sequel/ |archive-date=2024-12-18 |access-date=2025-01-16 |work=Lyles Movie Files |language=en-US}}</ref> the director then hired [[Ludacris|Chris "Ludacris" Bridges]] as a substitute.<ref name="ESPN"/> Bridges would later rise to prominence for appearing in the film and star in later films such as ''[[Crash (2004 film)|Crash]]'' and ''[[Hustle & Flow]]''.<ref name="Woven Digital">{{cite news|last=Pruner|first=Aaron|title=How Ja Rule Turning Down ''2 Fast 2 Furious'' Helped Launch Ludacris As A Star|url=http://uproxx.com/movies/how-ja-rule-turning-down-2-fast-2-furious-helped-launch-ludacris-as-a-star/|access-date=July 21, 2017|work=[[Uproxx]]|publisher=Woven Digital|archive-date=July 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714134450/http://uproxx.com/movies/how-ja-rule-turning-down-2-fast-2-furious-helped-launch-ludacris-as-a-star/|url-status=live}}</ref> Additional cast also included [[Cole Hauser]] as key villain Carter Verone, who appeared in Singleton's ''[[Higher Learning]]''; [[Eva Mendes]] as undercover agent [[Monica Fuentes]]; and [[Devon Aoki]] as [[List of Fast & Furious characters#Suki|Suki]], the sole female driver in the film.<ref name="prodnotes"/>