Timothy Olyphant is without doubt one of the biggest actors of our time, however the universe at all times conspires to provide us much less of him. We’d have cherished to see a number of Hitman sequels, however twentieth Century Studios was by no means excited by making one. We’d even have cherished to see extra of Sheriff Seth Bullock, however Deadwood was canceled after solely three seasons, regardless of getting approval from nearly each critic who noticed it. It’s painful to even discuss Santa Clarita Eating regimen, and some different initiatives. What do we now have to do to get a prolonged Olyphant run anyplace?
Regardless of the interruptions, Timothy Olyphant has remained one among Hollywood’s most hardworking actors. In 2024, he did glorious voice work in Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Terminator Zero, and in 2025, he’s set to impress as soon as once more in Havoc, a star-studded motion thriller that additionally options Tom Hardy and Forrest Whitaker. If destiny had performed out otherwise, he would now be filming the twelfth installment of the Quick & Livid franchise. As soon as upon a time, Olyphant was supplied the important thing position of Dominic “Dom” Toretto, solely to show it down.
Timothy Olyphant Didn’t Assume ‘Quick & Livid’ Would Be Large
Through the years, Timothy Olyphant has struggled to elucidate why he turned down the primary Quick & Livid film. He has given numerous causes in numerous interviews, one among them being that he had simply completed a car-related film when he was supplied the position of Dom, therefore he wasn’t excited by signing up for one more.
Only a 12 months earlier than The Quick and the Livid premiered, Olyphant starred within the remake of Gone in 60 Seconds alongside Nicolas Cage. In it, a automobile thief gathers a workforce after he’s compelled to steal 50 high-end automobiles if he needs to see his youngster once more. Effectively, the primary Quick film additionally entails automobiles and stealing, so we are able to perceive why Olyphant didn’t wish to repeat himself.
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Nevertheless, his most trustworthy reply got here throughout a sitdown on Watch What Occurs Dwell With Andy Cohen.
“I simply thought, effectively, this can simply be silly, and I assumed nobody is gonna wanna see this film eight or 9 completely different occasions. I imply, by the third or fourth sequel, persons are gonna positively get tired of it. Proper?”
Fallacious! The franchise turned so large that Vin Diesel hardly felt the necessity to tackle some other position. However Olyphant insists he doesn’t remorse it, stating that there was no higher particular person to helm a automobile franchise than a person whose title is Diesel.
“I have never seen these films, however y’know, they’re a part of the tradition that I do know what they’re. And it seems like a part of what makes that, [Vin Diesel] is a huge- he is simply not like something on the market… I keep in mind pondering “I am unable to make this work,” I used to be like, “Why would I be on this?” on the time. However he looks like they bought the fitting man.”
The Quick & Livid sequence has been a significant success commercially. It’s at the moment Common’s greatest franchise and the eighth highest-grossing movie sequence of all time, with a complete gross of over $7 billion, a determine that’s set to extend with the upcoming installment.
With Timothy Olyphant, ‘Quick & Livid’ May Have Been Much less Corny, However It In all probability Wouldn’t Have Lasted Lengthy
The Quick & Livid franchise is extraordinarily corny, and we like it for that. Nonetheless, such an method wants the fitting solid. The flicks stay in excessive gear due to the riveting presence of Vin Diesel, whose private charisma and notably ferocious driving type made him a world star. It’s laborious to image Timothy Olyphant doing all these tacky traces about “household” with a straight face. The actor can crack a joke or immerse himself in a slapstick second, as seen in his cameos in The Workplace and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Nevertheless, he tends to lean extra towards frown-y roles.
Diesel’s Dom is loud and confrontational. Along with that, he’s a daredevil, keen to do all types of stunts. Olyphant may have introduced an earthier aptitude to the position. Along with his involvement, the franchise might need had a criminal offense drama or spy thriller really feel, fairly than an motion comedy. His character might need been quieter and extra strategic, with morals that have been as twisted because the folks he sought to destroy. His movies would have been extra visceral, and much much less flashy than customary Hollywood blockbusters, trailing disparate characters with an exigent, nearly documentary assertion of social realism.
Would which were factor? With a grittier method, the movies might need impressed critics extra, however they doubtless wouldn’t have grossed billions of {dollars}.
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Then there’s a query of whether or not the actor would even stick round for all of the installments if he had been solid as Dom. In as a lot as we lament a few lack of continuity in Timothy Olyphant’s profession, a glance into his filmography proves he’s extra of a journeyman, and he isn’t a lot of a franchise-man both. His solely ever appearances in a movie sequence got here in Scream 2 and Dwell Free or Die Laborious.
He as soon as informed The Hollywood Reporter:
“I’ve handed on absurd initiatives, they usually have turn out to be monumental, monumental hits spawning quite a few sequels, and I’m not in them.”
Olyphant might need thus moved on after The Quick & the Livid, and there’d be no billion-dollar franchise at this time. This doesn’t look like a nice alternate actuality, so audiences ought to be pleased about what they’ve.
The ‘Quick & Livid’ Franchise’s Greatest Downside Isn’t the Solid
The ‘What if?” state of affairs surrounding Dominic Toretto creates room for nourishing discourse. Nonetheless, it’s value acknowledging that casting is hardly the franchise’s greatest downside. Quick & Livid’ flaws may be as large as Dom’s ego, however all of the actors slot in.
Vin Diesel is ideal in all his “I’ll by no means put on a long-sleeved shirt so that you just maintain seeing my arms” glory. Tyrese Gibson’s deadpan line readings and impeccable comedian timing are a part of what makes this saga so nice, particularly when he jokes throughout critical discussions and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges is convincing as a hacker and mechanic. It’s additionally laborious to image anybody aside from Dwayne Johnson as Hobbs, or Frank Grillo as Shaw.
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The franchise merely wants higher scripts, and we hope the ultimate installment will get issues proper. Although the dialogue and spectacle are typically first-rate, most plots are disjointed, formulaic, and incoherent, feeling like scenes have been patched collectively from recommendations that have been thrown round throughout Day One of many shoot. Audiences don’t thoughts seeing characters go into area, however there needs to be a wise rationalization behind it. Common Footage positive can afford to seek the advice of NASA.
The characters additionally should be fleshed out extra. It could be fascinating to see somebody aside from Dom having romantic relationships or private issues. Nobody will get ailing? Nobody has a cussed youngster? Nobody’s funds are in a large number? Such little relatable issues make a film nice, however the Quick & Livid movies would fairly dedicate all of the minutes to heists, banter, and chases. Time for a change.