Dwayne Johnson has confirmed his return to the Fast & Furious franchise after healing his feud with Vin Diesel.
The former WWE star made his franchise debut in 2011’s Fast Five playing US secret agent Luke Hobbs. He went on to reprise the role for three sequels as well as the 2019 spin-off Hobbs & Shaw.
However, the 51-year-old was absent from the film franchise’s ninth instalment in 2019 amid his and Diesel’s fallout.
Following F9’s release, Johnson insisted that there was “no chance” he would return to the series, which continued with recently released Fast X and has at least two more instalments in the works.
However, the Baywatch star has done a 180 on previous sentiments and now revealed that he will be back for more Fast films following a post-credits scene in the latest release.
Taking to Twitter, the star wrote alongside a four-minute long video: “Hope you’ve got your funderwear on… HOBBS IS BACK.
Hope you’ve got your funderwear on…
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) June 1, 2023
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
“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 legendary lawman in will be the HOBBS movie that will serve as a fresh, new chapter and set-up for Fast X: Part II.”
The Moana star said the reaction from fans to Fast X has been “gratifying and satisfying”, and also revealed that he and Diesel had ended their long-standing feud.
The Black Adam actor continued: “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 and fans that we love. I’ve built my career on an ‘audience first’ mentality and that will always serve as my North Star.”
Diesel has played lead character Dominic Toretto since the original film in 2001.
Johnson first hinted at tensions between he and Diesel in 2016 when he expressed his frustrations with male co-stars during the production of 2017’s The Fate of the Furious.
He said: “Some conduct themselves as stand-up men and true professionals, while others don’t. The ones that don’t are too chicken s**t to do anything about it anyway. Candy asses.
“When you watch this movie next April and it seems like I’m not acting in some of these scenes and my blood is legit boiling – you’re right.” It was later revealed that Johnson was talking about Diesel.
Johnson later spoke to Vanity Fair about the fallout, explaining that the film stars had met in his trailer to discuss their differences.
He said: “I wouldn’t call it a peaceful meeting. I would call it a meeting of clarity.
“He and I had a good chat in my trailer, and it was out of that chat that it really became just crystal clear that we are two separate ends of the spectrum. And agreed to leave it there.”
