Dwayne Johnson Returns Fire In Fast & Furious Vin Diesel Feud: “An Example Of His Manipulation”

With the conclusion of the Fast & Furious franchise coming fast and with the tenth film soon approaching, there has been a lot of attention paid to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Vin Diesel’s rivalry. In a recent interview, Johnson reaffirmed his refusal to star in another one of its movies.

“This past June, when Vin and I actually connected not over social media, I told him directly—and privately—that I would not be returning to the franchise,” Johnson told CNN recently. “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.”

Despite this, Vin Diesel, who portrays Dominic Toretto and is one of the series’ producers, hasn’t stopped pushing for Johnson to return as he posted to his Instagram account pleading for the actor to reprise his role in the driving films.

“My little brother Dwayne… the time has come,” Diesel wrote for the caption. “I say this out of love… but you must show up, do not leave the franchise idle you have a very important role to play. Hobbs can’t be played by no other.”

Writing further, Diesel goes on to refer to his children and how they call The Rock “Uncle Dwayne”. He also mentioned the late Paul Walker who died in a car accident in 2013. Talking to CNN, Johnson discusses how this was a form of manipulation from the actor.

“Vin’s recent public post was an example of his manipulation,” he told viewers. “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.”

According to US News, the cast’s conflict dates back at least 2016, when Johnson referred to unnamed members of the Fast and Furious cast as “candy asses” in a now-deleted Instagram post. Following years of animosity between the actors, Johnson stated in July that he hoped the ensemble and crew of The Fast Saga good luck, but that he would not participate in any more instalments.

The franchise has just two films left, Fast 10 and Fast 11, and reports indicate that filming on the next film will begin this month. It’s also been rumoured that both films will be shot back to back to quicken the release process.