F9: The Fast Saga’s young Dom Toretto actor wants to see Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Luke Hobbs character return by the end of the Fast and Furious franchise. Johnson had a leading role in the series from Fast Five through The Fate of the Furious, as well as his own spinoff movie in Hobbs & Shaw. However, due to on-set feuding with series star and producer, Vin Diesel, The Rock did not appear in Fast and Furious 9.
The disagreements between Johnson and Diesel during the production of the Fast and Furious franchise is well-documented. It’s a shame, because the two stars were so great together on camera, and the dynamic between their characters added a nice extra dimension to series’ ensemble. At this point, though, it seems unlikely that The Rock will ever return to the Fast franchise, and the question has generally been avoided in interviews.
One of the newer additions to the Fast and Furious universe wants to see Johnson return to the franchise, however. In a recent exclusive interview with Screen Rant promoting the director's cut of F9, Vinnie Bennett, who played a young version of Dom Toretto in the flashbacks of Fast and Furious 9, said that he hopes The Rock returns for the series’ finale. There are many fans who would agree with Bennett, and his pitch for how to bring Johnson back into the fold is interesting, to say the least. Read his full quote below:
Exclusive: “Aliens. I don't know. I was reading something about them crossing with either Jurassic Park or Transformers. I don't know, but personally I would like to see for the final two, or even the final one, is everyone from all of the movies, all of the villains come together and they try to take them down. And then all of the… You've got the Rock that comes back in just a big kind of Avengers assemble moment.”
It seems inevitable that Fast and Furious 10 and 11 will be the most ridiculous films in the franchise to date, so some of what Bennett recommends isn’t entirely outside the realm of possibility. Diesel has spoken often about the mythology of the franchise, and it’s likely that the final two films will see a lot of old characters come back in one way or another. Unfortunately, it’s far less likely that the bad blood between Diesel and The Rock will be mended in any way that would allow for the latter’s Fast and Furious return.
The introduction of John Cena as Jakob Toretto in F9 makes a return by Johnson even less likely. In many ways, Cena seems like a clear replacement for The Rock, making even less space in the upcoming films for the return of such a major star. Still, Johnson could theoretically return in a smaller cameo role, perhaps in the climax battle of Fast and Furious 11. Given all that he contributed to the world of Fast and Furious, it would be fun to see him play Hobbs at least one more time.
The Director's Cut of F9: The Fast Saga is now available on digital and Blu-ray from Universal Home Entertainment.