F9 makes a strong argument for Vin Diesel being more important to the franchise than Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock). The latter was first introduced into The Fast and the Furious saga during Fast Five, playing Luke Hobbs, a federal agent tasked with finding Diesel’s Dominic Toretto, Brian O’Connor (the late Paul Walker), and Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster). F9 is the first film since then not to feature Hobbs in an integral role, with the story setting up Diesel as the true core of the franchise.
Dom and Hobbs went from enemies to allies in a manner not dissimilar to Dom’s initial relationship with Brian. Johnson’s Hobbs got his own spinoff movie in 2019 in the aptly titled Hobbs & Shaw, which saw him teaming up with Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) to stop a programmable super-virus from wiping out half of the world’s population (which is eerily scary to think about now given real-life circumstances). While the film garnering a sequel in Hobbs & Shaw 2 suggests that Johnson’s star power is enough to lead a separate part of the franchise, his absence in F9 and the elevation of Diesel as the center of the franchise hones in on him being the key component and the glue holding it all together.
The majority of F9’s plot revolved around Dom and his estranged brother, Jakob Toretto (John Cena), who was working against his older brother before becoming an ally. With Hobbs nowhere in sight and no one even mentioning him at all, the sequel made it relatively clear who was the favored character.
Fast & Furious Was Always Vin Diesel's Franchise
The Fast and the Furious franchise has always been Vin Diesel’s. The films have always hinged upon the relationship between Dom and Paul Walker’s Brian O’Connor. While Walker’s death changed the onscreen dynamics of the films a bit, they have still centered Diesel’s character. In fact, The Fate of the Furious and F9 both have stories linked directly to Dom, with the latter even introducing his brother into the mix, which links new characters to the franchise veteran. This more than suggests that Jakob and Dom could become the core relationship for the next two films in the franchise, a decision that would continue to center Diesel as the driving force of the overarching narrative.
Diesel has been a part of the saga from the beginning, starting with 2001’s The Fast and the Furious. With the exception of 2 Fast 2 Furious, Diesel has helped pave the way for the franchise’s success. What’s more, it would be hard to imagine what the films would look like without Dom at the forefront. He’s been the rock holding his crew together; he also has a personal connection with most, if not all, of the characters that have appeared throughout the franchise. In addition to all that, Diesel has been a producer of the film saga since 2009’s Fast & Furious, which is likely one of the reasons why he’s been so integral to the slate of The Fast and the Furious movies for so long.
The Rock Changed (& Saved) The Franchise With Fast Five
The Rock’s introduction in Fast Five changed the franchise in many ways, becoming the first to crossover several characters from other films, including The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. It expanded the franchise beyond its limited, mostly standalone predecessors. Bringing in The Rock also added more star power to the franchise, while also giving Dom someone new and charismatic to clash with onscreen. Thanks to Johnson’s Agent Luke Hobbs, Fast Five allowed the saga to push boundaries, moving from its humble street-racing beginnings to take on international heists. Johnson’s involvement also boosted the franchise’s global presence, turning Fast Five into a worldwide success that surpassed the previous sequels like 2 Fast 2 Furious. To that end, The Rock helped to save the franchise early on, turning things around for it to become the global phenomenon it is now.
F9 Argues Vin Diesel Is More Important To Fast & Furious Than The Rock
F9 includes a number of moments that make it obvious Diesel’s Dom is the lynchpin, with the film reaffirming his status through dialogue, interactions with other characters, and plot set-up. As an example, when Dom reunites briefly with Queenie Shaw (Helen Mirren), her parting words to him were that he was her “favorite American.” Of course, the only other American Queenie has worked with is Hobbs, and the moment was likely added to make a clear distinction between the two actors by favoring one over the other in a nod to the audience. In this specific instance, it highlights the superiority of Diesel within the franchise, elevating him above The Rock. The line also works as shade because of Diesel and Johnson’s real-life, and very public, feud. Queenie Shaw didn’t have to say that to Dom, but she did and its meaning was certainly layered at that.
What’s more, F9 seems to indicate that The Fast and the Furious saga starts and ends with Diesel’s character. He is the crew’s leader and the audience sees how limited the other characters are when it comes to moving the story along. The plot doesn’t really get going until Dom agrees to get onboard, leading his friends to find answers and creating plans of action. He is essentially the force behind what makes the films work so well. While Johnson has been a staple of The Fast and the Furious films since Fast Five, Hobbs & Shaw, the spinoff starring him and Statham, wasn’t as much of a hit as the other films. To that end, it could be that Hobbs & Shaw’s lack of Diesel, whose Dom is far more established than Hobbs, brought it down.
After all, much of the audience is likely more invested in Dom and his crew, who are good guy outlaws worth rooting for. Meanwhile, F9 certainly proved that the formula could work without The Rock, but the same can’t be said of Diesel. Truth be told, if the latter was absent from the film, the plot wouldn’t have worked at all. Maybe it’s meant to be that way since it’s hard to imagine The Fast and the Furious saga without Dom front and center. Johnson has inarguably made the franchise a whole lot better, but Diesel will always be one half of the duo who started it all. And that, more than anything, is likely why F9 makes sure the audience knows that, too.