Surprise: Dwayne Johnson is back for the new film “Fast and Furious”.
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After the surprise tease at the end of Fast XUniversal is making it official: Dwayne Johnson is back for another Fast & Furious movie.
Johnson will star in an untitled film Fast project, Universal and Johnson announced on Thursday. Fast mainstay Chris Morgan wrote the screenplay. The return is a major reversal for the star who had insisted, repeatedly, that he was done with the action film franchise after clashing with Fast protagonist Vin Diesel.
The new project is also a franchise comeback for Morgan, who has been sitting out F9 AND Fast X but wrote six major franchise films and the 2019 spin-off, Fast & Furious Gifts: Hobbs & Shawstarring Johnson and Jason Statham.
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Johnson will also produce this Fast project with his Seven Bucks Productions partners Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia. Interestingly, joining Johnson on the producer list is Fast star and steward Diesel, who will produce with Samantha Vincent through their One Race banner. (The producers are clearly taking the franchise’s “family” theme to heart as Dany Garcia is Johnson’s ex-wife while Hiram Garcia is Dany’s brother and Johnson’s ex-brother-in-law. Samantha Vincent is Diesel’s sister.)
Morgan also produces for his Chris Morgan Productions, Jeff Kirschenbaum for Roth/Kirschenbaum Films and Neal Moritz for Original Film.
This new film is not a trendy spin-off Hobbs and Shawnor is it a Fast 11 OR Fast 12. Rather, the sources say, the film will act as a bridge chapter between Fast X AND Fast 11more than a Fast X.5, If you want. It is planned to star in others Fast the actors too.
But fans shouldn’t get too excited about an on-screen reunion between Johnson and Diesel just yet. Sources also say Diesel isn’t expected to star in this side chapter, though nothing is ruled out for future projects.
In essence, the two feuding mega-stars found a way to reunite behind the screen but not on screen, to bring Johnson back to Fast franchise but without bringing it back to Diesel’s family dinners.
Johnson and Diesel famously clashed on the 2016 set of The fate of the furious, which prompted Johnson to take his displeasure public on Instagram, calling out a co-star unnamed. Over the years, he has repeatedly told the press that he will not be returning to the main franchise. “I wish him well Fast 9. And I wish them good luck Fast 10 AND Fast 11 and the rest of the Fast & Furious the movies they make will be without me,” Johnson said The Hollywood Reporter in 2021.
A few months later, Diesel made a public appeal for Johnson to return Fast X. Again, Johnson told the press that he wouldn’t be returning, telling CNN there was “no chance” of him returning after privately telling Diesel ahead of the co-star’s public outing. “I’ve also spoken privately with my partners at Universal, who have all been very supportive as they understand the issue,” Johnson said.
Yet, after Fast X was completed, Johnson was convinced to return for a cameo. “We reached out to Dwayne and his team and said, ‘Come see the movie. You have to love the movie first.’ So he came to see the movie and he really liked it, and then we started talking. Fast X said director Louis Leterrier DAY last month.
But in a social media post Thursday, Johnson said the family is back together.
“Last summer Vin and I put all the past behind us. We will lead with brotherhood and resolve – and we will always care for the franchise, the characters and the FANS we love,” Johnson wrote.
The new film allows Universal to extend the life of a franchise by more than two decades, which apparently should have been winding down. Over the course of 10 films, the franchise has grossed over $7 billion at the worldwide box office. And the last installment, Fast Xit opened at number one worldwide in early May with $320 million and became the second-largest global opening of 2023. It crossed the $500 million mark in its second weekend.
Johnson is represented by WME and Gang Tire.
—Aaron Couch contributed to this story.