Dwayne Johnson joined The Fast and the Furious family with Fast 5, taking on the role of Agent Luke Hobbs of the US Diplomatic Security Service. Johnson would then go on to appear in the next three films in the franchise, until his mysterious absence from Fast 9. Now, it appears this has culminated with him sitting out of the final Fast and Furious films.
After Johnson's absence in F9, rumors speculated that tension and fighting amongst co-workers may be the reason for his sudden disappearance. These rumors first circulated around 2016, when Johnson took to social media to illuminate and bring clarity as to why he was so upset with his experience working on the franchise.
In the aforementioned Instagram post, Johnson name-called several cast members in the caption, most notably Vin Diesel and Tyrese Gibson. Gibson blamed F9's delay solely on Johnson. He claimed that Johnson accepting the offer to star in the new spin-off, Hobbs and Shaw, was the main culprit responsible for the stagnation F9 underwent. Therefore, Gibson claimed that Johnson’s innate selfishness was the real reason for his alleged beef. It seems as though Johnson and Gibson’s conflict with one another came to a natural close with time. However, Johnson and Diesel’s rocky past has remained frozen in time, becoming a feud that never quite fizzled out after all these years. Diesel had mentioned that he uses tactics of ‘tough love’ in order to get the best performances out of actors. Diesel told Men’s Health in an interview, “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.”
Johnson's response to Diesel’s ‘tough love’ explanation was followed by a series of cackling, exposing his amusement and bafflement towards his claim. Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter that, “I laughed and I laughed hard. I think everyone had a laugh at that. And I’ll leave it at that.” Originally, Johnson had claimed that the sole reason for his absence in F9 was due to conflicting schedules, yet with the reveal of these rumors, that is becoming increasingly hard to believe.
He made it a point to debunk all of the other rumors that he may be returning to either upcoming The Fast and Furious films, making his absence extend to the entirety of the franchise’s future. Johnson will officially be resigning as Hobbs and his presence in the film series will be missed by many. The good news is that fans won’t have to wait too long for Hobbs to make his return to the screen. Johnson will without a doubt be returning for the next Hobbs and Shaw film.
In fact, spin-offs seem to be the future for the Fast and Furious franchise. A film centered on Charlize Theron's Cipher is currently in the works, in addition to another Hobbs and Shaw film.
Fast and Furious 9 is now playing in theaters.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter