The Fast & Furious ensemble have reportedly wrapped up filming in the UAE after a week on set in the capital city. Tyrese Gibson, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges and Paul Walker’s brothers, Cody and Caleb, continued exploring Abu Dhabi and Dubai during their downtime.
On Friday, Rodriguez posted a photo of herself in front of a sleek silver sports car striking her signature pose — a headstand — in a pink bikini. According to her caption, she wasn’t too happy that she wasn’t behind the wheel.
“I’ve always wanted to know what it’s like to drive a Bugatti... Too bad I’m a practical Prius driving humble [expletive], maybe I’ll get to one day in a sexy [expletive] movie,” she wrote.
Rodriguez was able to get on the tracks with her co-star Bridges. She was seen in several of his Instagram posts on Friday and Saturday in Ferrari world where they were getting ready to “[tear] up the tracks”. One photo saw them posing happily on top of a sports car with their arms in the air. In a short video, Bridges gave a tour of their surroundings before turning to Rodriguez.
“You ready for this Michelle?” he asked, to which she replied: “I was born ready.”
On Sunday, the rapper posted a photo of himself and Gibson in traditional garb tagged “brotherhood”. Bridges had a white gutra wrapped around his head while Gibson’s red-and-white ghutra was tied at the back of his head and draped over his shoulders.
The two were seen in the same clothing in a video Bridges posted on Facebook. Paul Walker’s brothers, Cody and Caleb, could be seen in the background. They have been confirmed as doubles for their late brother who died in a car crash in November.
“Caleb and Cody are helping us complete some remaining action for their brother and fill in small gaps left in production. Having them on set has made us all feel that Paul is with us too,” read an official Fast & Furious statement posted to Facebook on April 15.
In the video, you could also see a liger — a lion-tiger hybrid — chained to a palm tree. It was unclear where this was taking place, though the Burj Al Arab hotel could be seen in the distance. On Saturday, Bridges posted a photo of the liger with the caption: “Only 50 in the world.” He was seen feeding a white tiger in another video.
Keeping up with the animal theme, both Bridges and Gibson posted several photos of themselves with a baby chimpanzee dressed in a red dress. Bridges jokingly called the monkey his new girlfriend.
Diesel, who does not have an official Twitter account, was the most untraceable of all the actors, keeping a low profile. However, he posted a few photos sans captions to his Facebook page, including one of himself bottle-feeding a lion — or perhaps it was the liger?
Hybrid animals aside, UAE aficionado Gibson attended the first ever Dubai Desert Triathlon at Dubai International Endurance City on Saturday morning.
“Proud to support,” he Tweeted, saying that he was supporting history in the making.
In a video posted to his Facebook, he was seen embracing Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, at the event. The two shared hushed words.
“The Maktoum Family I thank you sincerely for the love always,” Gibson wrote in his caption.
Later that night, the actor-musician made a planned appearance at XL Beach Club at Habtoor Grand Resort & Spa.
