Jordana Brewster and Devon Sawa address the Fast & Furious reference in their new slasher movie, as the former "was worried it wasn't going to make it." The actress has starred in seven Fast & Furious movies as Mia Torretto, the sister of Vin Diesel's Dom and wife of Paul Walker's Brian. In addition to the ten mainline movies, the Fast & Furious franchise also includes the 2019 spin-off film Hobbs & Shaw for Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham's titular characters.
Though the year is still young, there have already been several horror movies released in 2025. The microbudget Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare, the third installment in The Twisted Childhood Universe, kicked off the calendar on January 13, followed by the Wolf Man reboot on January 17. Steven Soderbergh's Presence and Companion, the latter produced by Barbarian director Zach Cregger, were also released in theaters in late January. This past weekend, the first horror movie of February, the Valentine's Day-themed slasher Heart Eyes, was released.
Heart Eyes Stars Address Its Fast & Furious Reference
Devon Sawa "Was Worried It Wasn't Going To Make It"
Heart Eyes stars Jordana Brewster and Devon Sawa address the Fast & Furious reference in their new slasher film. Directed by Josh Ruben, with a script written by Michael Kennedy and Christopher Landon – the filmmakers behind Freaky and Happy Death Day – the new rom-com slasher follows the titular killer who terrorizes Valentine's Day by hunting down and killing couples in love. Led by Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Gigi Zumbado, and Michaela Watkins, Heart Eyes' cast also includes Devon Sawa and Jordana Brewster as Detectives Hobbs and Shaw.
The ending of Heart Eyes works as both a sweet conclusion to a rom-com story of love as well as a grisly climax for a bloody slasher film.
In an interview with CinemaBlend, Jordana Brewster and Devon Sawa addressed the Fast & Furious reference in Heart Eyes. The stars say the reference was in the script and though they found it challenging to keep a straight face, they ultimately played it deadpan to ensure the joke made it into the film. Read their full comments or watch the portion of the interview below:
Brewster: It was in the script. And it was also really hard to remember which one of us was Hobbs, which one of us was Shaw. Was that hard for you and was that just me?
Sawa: It took a while.
Brewster: And I think the hardest thing as an actor, too, is knowing the joke and yet keeping a completely straight face. That was so hard.
Sawa: I was worried it wasn't going to make it in the film if we went too goofy with it and we just played it as deadpan and it kind of worked a lot better that way.
Why The Reference Landed Just Right
Heart Eyes' Fast & Furious reference lands just right due to Jordana Brewster and Devon Sawa's decision to embrace a deadpan delivery instead of overplaying the joke. While it could have easily felt forced or overly self-aware, their approach allowed the reference to blend seamlessly into the film's offbeat humor without pulling audiences out of the moment. By keeping it goofy but restrained, the reference is an amusing nod rather than a distraction, adding to Heart Eyes' playful tone as a comedic slasher.
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