The impossible has happened–Dwayne Johnson is coming back to the Fast & Furious franchise.
Fast & Furious fans would remember when Johnson and Vin Diesel famously had a falling out, with Johnson declaring that he would never return to the franchise.
But, after an unexpected cameo at the end of Fast X, Johnson announced on Twitter that his character Luke Hobbs will come back for a currently untitled film, according to Deadline.
“Hope you’ve got your funderwear on,” he wrote on Twitter, quoting one of Hobbs’ iconic statements. “HOBBS IS BACK. And he just got lei’d. Luke Hobbs will be returning to the Fast & Furious franchise.”
“Your reactions around the world to Hobbs’ return in Fast X have blown us away,” he continued. “The next Fast & Furious film you’ll see the legendary lawman in will be the HOBBS movie that will serve as a fresh, new chapter & set up for FASTX: Part II.”
Johnson also addressed the famous rift between him and Diesel, writing, “Last summer Vin and I put all the past behind us. We’ll lead with brotherhood and resolve – and always take care of the franchise, characters & FANS that we love.”
“I’ve built my career on an ‘Audience First’ mentality and that will always serve as my North Star,” he wrote. “Congratulations to my Fast Family & Universal Studios on the global success of FAST X and as always, Hobbs & @SevenBucksProd [Johnson’s production company Seven Bucks Productions] are motivated to help take the Fast franchise to new and exciting places for fans worldwide.”
Johnson also ended his announcement with another of Hobbs’ quotes, “Daddy’s gotta go to work.”
Hope you’ve got your funderwear on…
HOBBS IS BACK.
And he just got lei’d 🌺😈Luke Hobbs will be returning to the Fast & Furious franchise.
Your reactions around the world to Hobbs’ return in Fast X have blown us away 🤯🙏🏾🌍
The next Fast & Furious film you’ll see the… pic.twitter.com/vvtBgTBOnl
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) June 1, 2023
Johnson and Diesel‘s feud has been years in the making, with Johnson writing on Facebook and Instagram in now-deleted posts how his female co-stars were “amazing,” but his male-co-stars “are a different story.”
“Some conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don’t,” he wrote, according to Insider. “The ones that don’t are too chicken shit to do anything about it anyway. Candy asses.”
Diesel claimed in a 2017 USA Today interview, however, that the feud isn’t as huge as Johnson was making it out to be, saying that he protects “everybody including Dwayne” in the franchise.
“I protected Dwayne more than he’ll ever know,” he said, as reported by Insider. “And it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t have to know. But he appreciates it. He knows it. Dwayne has got only one Vin in his life. Dwayne Johnson has one big brother in this film world and that’s me.”
Also as reported by Insider, Johnson said to Rolling Stone in 2018 how he fundamentally disagreed with how Diesel approaches his craft.
“Vin and I had a few discussions, including an important face-to-face in my trailer. And what I came to realize is that we have a fundamental difference in philosophies on how we approach moviemaking and collaborating,” he said. “It took me some time, but I’m grateful for that clarity. Whether we work together again or not.”
Diesel did admit to Men’s Health in 2021 that he used “tough love” to get the performance he wanted out of Johnson, saying that the aesthetic of Johnson’s character “took a lot of work.”
“We had to get there and sometimes, at that time, I could give a lot of tough love,” he said. “Not Felliniesque, but I would do anything I’d have to do in order to get perofmrances in anything I’m producing.”
In response to that, Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter, “I laughed and I laughed hard. I think everyone had a laugh at that. And I’ll leave it at that.”
Also in 2021, Johnson publicly responded to what he considered to be Diesel trying to manipulate him into coming back to the franchise via an Instagram post in which he said his children call Johnson “Uncle Dwayne.” Diesel also brought up late castmate Paul Walker in his post, which Johnson also took as a manipulation tactic.
As he told CNN, “I told [Diesel] directly that I would not be returning to the franchise. I was firm yet cordial with my words and said that I would always be supportive of the cast and always root for the franchise to be successful, but that there was no chance I would return. Vin’s recent public post was an example of his manipulation. I didn’t like that he brought up his children in the post, as well as Paul Walker’s death. Leave them out of it. We had spoken months ago about this and came to a clear understanding.”
“My goal all along was to end my amazing journey with this incredible franchise with gratitude and grace. It’s unfortunate that this public dialogue has muddied the waters. Regardless, I’m confident in the ‘Fast’ universe and its ability to consistently deliver for the audience… I truly wish my former co-stars and crew members the best of luck and success in the next chapter.”
