Many characters in the Fast & Furious franchise have managed to appear in multiple installments of this series, but the character of Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes) has proven to be one noticeable exception. First appearing in 2 Fast 2 Furious, Fuentes was a U.S. customs agent who partnered up with Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) and Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) to take down a drug lord. Over the course of their mission, the trio managed to defeat the film’s antagonist while O’Conner and Fuentes ended up developing a romance.

While these characters would remain absent for the next entry in the Fast Saga, Tokyo Drift, O’Conner would return to the role of a protagonist in 2009’s Fast & Furious while Pearce and fellow 2 Fast 2 Furious character Tej Parker (Ludacris) would return to the franchise with Fast Five. Since then, Pearce and Parker have become mainstays of the Fast & Furious movies while O’Conner’s legacy has lived on well after the tragic passing of Paul Walker.

However, one figure from 2 Fast 2 Furious who hasn’t managed to return in newer Fast & Furious titles (save for a post-credits cameo in Fast Five) is Monica Fuentes. For a series that’s all about bringing back as many characters possible, Fuentes is noticeably a  rare character to constantly sit out new Fast & Furious movies.

The reasons for her continued absence are numerous, the most notable of these causes being that Eva Mendes has withdrawn from acting entirely. With the exception of the 2014 Ryan Gosling directorial effort Lost River, Mendes hasn’t appeared in any films since 2012. As revealed in an interview with Oprah Magazine, Mendes stepped away from acting so that she could focus on her two children, a pursuit that leaves her little time to appear in Fast & Furious adventures.

Her acting hiatus has spanned the timeframe of every Fast & Furious sequel after Fast Five. In the time Mendes has stepped back from acting, other characters have emerged as key parts of the franchise occupying roles that could have easily been filled by Monica Fuentes. The part of a law enforcement officer on friendly terms with once-fugitives like Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) has been taken over by Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson). Meanwhile, Fuentes was superseded as the primary love interest of Brian O’Conner with Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) taking over that role in the last decade of Fast & Furious cinema.

Between Mendes stepping back from acting and the fact that recent Fast & Furious movies have created substitutes for the character of Monica Fuentes, it’s abundantly clear why Fuentes hasn’t returned to The Fast Saga. However, if Han could come back from the dead, there’s no reason Monica Fuentes couldn’t come back to this franchise eventually. One place she could potentially return is that female-led Fast & Furious spin-off that’s in development. If they’re looking for longstanding Fast & Furious characters to round out the cast of that franchise, it’s likely that it could be the perfect opportunity to bring Monica Fuentes back into the world of Fast & Furious.

Next: Why Fast & Furious Movies Stopped Being About Drag Racing

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