The Fast & Furious feud between Tyrese Gibson and Dwayne Johnson is officially over. The physics-defying franchise has amassed quite the ensemble over the years, with Gibson and Johnson both playing pivotal parts. Gibson, as Roman Pearce, joined the Fast & Furious world in the 2003 film 2 Fast 2 Furious, and though he sat out the next two installments, he's appeared in every movie since 2011's Fast Five. Meanwhile, Fast Five marked Johnson's first outing as Luke Hobbs. His growing popularity as a character over the next few movies led to a spin-off centered on him and Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw, which ultimately caused the rift between Johnson and Gibson.
In 2017, following the announcement that Hobbs & Shaw was in development, Gibson made a series of public pleas asking Johnson to not make the Fast & Furious spin-off. Gibson was displeased with Johnson for supposedly making the franchise about him, and for pushing back Fast & Furious 9 to 2020 as a result (It has since been delayed again to 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic). Johnson never responded to Gibson's social media posts, and Gibson appeared to celebrate when Hobbs & Shaw's opening weekend underwhelmed at the box office.
Now, with Fast & Furious 9 finally on the horizon (again) and two more movies on the way, Gibson and Johnson have buried the hatchet. Gibson recently appeared on Josh Horowitz's Stir Crazy to discuss his role in Netflix's The Christmas Chronicles 2. While there, Horowitz ran through some hypothetical Fast & Furious spin-offs for Gibson's Roman, which prompted the actor to delve into his feelings about spin-offs: He doesn't like how they make the franchise about one person. Gibson mentioned Johnson and revealed they actually had a lengthy discussion that has bridged the gap between them. He said:
You know, here's the thing, and I actually said this about the Rock - and me and the Rock peaced up by the way. We talked for four hours about three weeks ago. We talked. We did at least four hours, it was great.
Now that Fast & Furious 9 is on the way, Gibson must be feeling better about the future of the franchise, especially since it was recently announced to be expanded into eleven movies. In the end, Hobbs & Shaw wasn't necessarily hurting the larger franchise, and perhaps Gibson has finally seen that in talking to Johnson. Of course, there is a second Hobbs & Shaw on the way, and it remains to be seen how Gibson feels about it. Hopefully, though, he'll be a bit more supportive for his co-stars.
At its core, Fast & Furious has always been about family, and it's clear Gibson has taken that message to heart. Sometimes family members fight, as seen through Gibson and Johnson's feud. Luckily, that now seems to be in the rearview mirror, and the two actors can now focus on bringing Fast & Furious to a satisfying close. Though Johnson won't be in Fast & Furious 9, it seems likely that he'll pop up somehow in the final two movies. Maybe he and Gibson will even have some scenes together. Wouldn't that be nice?
Source: Comedy Central
