As you might know, Dwayne Johnson is a Hollywood mainstay with so many famous movie credits
to his name that it's easy to lose count of them all.
Ever since he made his transition from being The Rock in the WWE to the big screen, Johnson
has joined a number of ongoing franchises, but there is one franchise for which he is
very well known — "The Fast and the Furious."
Since first appearing as Hobbs in "Fast Five" back in 2011, Johnson went on to reprise the
role four more times, including in the spin-off film in which he co-stars with Jason Statham,
"Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw."
However, the only thing more well-known about Johnson playing Hobbs — other than him kicking
butt and taking names — is the notorious beef between Johnson and Mr. Family himself,
Vin Diesel.
Diesel, of course, has played Dominic Toretto in the "Fast & Furious" franchise from the
very beginning and continues to star in the franchise's films, including the latest installment,
"F9."
As big of a star as The Rock may be, Vin Diesel is basically the face of the "Fast & Furious"
franchise, so this latest unfortunate development wasn't exactly unforeseeable — especially
in light of said public beef.
Johnson did not appear in "F9," and now he has something to say about both that omission
and whether or not he'll appear in any other films within the franchise going forward.
Two things of note are worth mentioning before discussing Dwayne Johnson's future in the
"Fast & Furious" movie franchise.
One, there are supposedly only two more movies left in the franchise before the story wraps.
Two, Vin Diesel recently tried to explain the feud between him and Dwayne Johnson.
In a recent interview with Men's Health, Diesel passed off the beef as intentional on his
part.
Diesel said,
"I could give a lot of tough love.
Not Felliniesque, but I would do anything I'd have to do in order to get performances
in anything I'm producing."
While doing an interview alongside Emily Blunt with The Hollywood Reporter to promote "Jungle
Cruise," their upcoming Disney film, Johnson responded bluntly:
"I laughed and I laughed hard.I think everyone had a laugh at that.
And I'll leave it at that."
And by “leave it at that” he meant, “expand on the situation….”
"And that I've wished them well.
I wish them well on '[F9].'
And I wish them the best of luck on 'Fast 10' and 'Fast 11' and the rest of the 'Fast
& Furious' movies they do that will be without me."
In other words, it certainly seems like Johnson is done with "The Fast & Furious" franchise
permanently.
Emily Blunt sarcastically chimed in about Diesel, saying,
"Just thank God he was there.
[...] Thank God.
He carried you through that."
"Felliniesque," Johnson said in response.
Just so we’re clear — Felliniesque would refer to the famous Italian director who created
bizarre, abstract films, — that were more like works of art.
You know, just like the Fast Franchise, right?
There was plenty of space in Diesel's somewhat self-serving explanation of the beef for Johnson
to leave it squashed, but his comments during the press junket for "Jungle Cruise" suggest
hatchet burying isn't in the cards for him and Vin.
While he never provided anything close to the Full Sherman in his response to questions
about his future with the "Fast & Furious" franchise, his obvious disdain for Diesel's
comments — not to mention the sarcastic addition from Blunt — suggest it would take
quite an overture to rope him back into the family.
It's not like he's really hurting for the work, either.
Johnson just completed what he described as one of the most physically and mentally demanding
experiences of his career preparing for and filming "Black Adam," and given the anticipation
for that particular feature, it seems likely he'll become a mainstay with the DC Extended
Universe for the foreseeable future.
Long before that superhero flick reaches screens, however, his starring turn in the long-awaited
"Jungle Cruise" is set to debut.
The House of Mouse certainly hopes that "Jungle Cruise" will become the next "Pirates of the
Caribbean," in which case Dwayne Johnson's Frank "Skipper" Wolff will be the next Captain
Jack Sparrow.
That sounds like another franchise role if we've ever heard one.
"Jungle Cruise" hits theaters on Friday, July 30th and will also be available on Disney+
Premier Access for $29.99.
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