Jakob Toretto Fast and Furious: Who He Is, Who Plays Him

Jakob Toretto is Dominic Toretto's estranged brother, introduced in F9 (2021), directed by Justin Lin. John Cena plays the adult Jakob and Finn Cole plays Young Jakob, and the film bills Cena fifth.

Jakob is new to the saga, which spent eight films building its core crew. When F9 opens, Dom has not forgiven him since their father, Jack Toretto, died in a racing crash. Flashbacks show that crash and the split between the brothers.

Jakob Toretto appears in two films, F9 (2021) and Fast X (2023), directed by Louis Leterrier, where Cena is credited as Jakob again and billed fifth. If you want the wider family picture, start with Dominic Toretto.

Jakob Toretto goes from Dom's estranged rival in F9 (2021) to a protector of Dom's family in Fast X (2023), where he sacrifices himself. It starts in 1989, when Jack Toretto dies in a crash on a race track and Dom comes to suspect that Jakob had a hand in it. After a race between the two, Dom forces Jakob out of Los Angeles.

In the present day of F9, Dom is retired with Letty Ortiz and his son when Roman Pearce, Tej Parker and Ramsey tell him that Cipher's plane has been hit. Dom discovers that Jakob is working with the people behind the attack. The crew finds half of Project Aries, a device that can hack weapons systems, and Jakob steals it. Later, he and his wealthy backer Otto kidnap Elle and take the second half.

The turn comes when Otto betrays Jakob and joins forces with Cipher. Dom and Mia Toretto rescue Jakob, and the family then stops the upload that Otto planned to run through a satellite. At the end, Dom hands Jakob his car keys so he can get away from custody, which is how the brothers make peace.

In Fast X, Jakob is on the right side from the start. He saves Mia and Little B (Dom's son) in Los Angeles and takes the boy to Portugal. When Dante Reyes kidnaps Little B there, Jakob sacrifices himself to stop the pursuing mercenaries.

Jakob's most important relationship is with Dom, and everyone else in his story is measured against it. The film presents him as Dom's brother and as the son of Jack Toretto, so the family question is settled on screen. No film says whether Jakob is older or younger than Dom.

His other ties are shorter but still matter. Mia Toretto, Dom's sister, helps rescue him in F9 after Otto turns on him, and in Fast X he is the one who gets Mia and Little B out of Los Angeles. Little B is Dom's young son, which makes Jakob the uncle who protects him.

On the other side, Otto is the backer who uses him in F9 and then discards him. In Fast X, his opponents are the mercenaries working for Dante Reyes, who is hunting Dom's family. For the villain's own profile, see Dante Reyes.

Whether Jakob Toretto is alive is unconfirmed: in Fast X he sacrifices himself to stop mercenaries chasing Little B in Portugal, and the film leaves his survival unanswered.

Fast X ends on a cliffhanger with many fates left open, and the story is set up to continue.

Will he be back? The next film, Fast Forever, is dated by Universal for March 17, 2028. Vin Diesel said shooting starts in December 2026. No cast has been confirmed, so a return for Jakob is not confirmed.

Jakob Toretto's best moment is the keys handoff at the end of F9, when Dom gives him his car keys so he can escape custody. In my opinion, nothing is forced and the whole film's tension drops into place. It mirrors the end of The Fast and the Furious (2001), where Brian O'Conner gives Dom the keys to his Supra, and the saga has always settled its hardest arguments with a set of keys instead of a speech.

Second, the rescue in the middle of F9. Otto turns on Jakob, and Dom and Mia pull him out, which is the first time the brothers act as a team. It is the hinge of the whole story, and the film earns the forgiveness that follows.

Third, his sacrifice in Fast X. It is the right ending for a man who started as a threat to the family, because he uses his last scene to protect its youngest member. That being said, the film does not confirm the outcome, and that gap is the only thing I would change.