Icons Unearthed: Fast & Furious creator Brian Volk-Weiss teases new details about Dwyane "The Rock" Johnson and Vin Diesel's feud in the docuseries. Volk-Weiss has delved deep into three of the most successful franchises ever with Icons Unearthed: Star Wars, The Simpsons, and now Fast & Furious. The Fast and the Furious began in 2001 as a grounded street racing movie with an undercover cop investigating a group of thieves stealing electronics and DVDs from transport trucks. In the last twenty-two years, the franchise has expanded into a CGI action-heavy franchise with a tenth movie on the way.
The Fast And The Furious franchise not only ramped up the drama onscreen but behind the scenes as well. Johnson and Diesel have been publicly feuding for years, beginning with passive-aggressive social media posts that escalated into Johnson's refusal to return for the franchise's penultimate movie, Fast X. During Screen Rant's exclusive interview with Volk-Weiss, he teased that new details about the feud will be revealed in Icons Unearthed: Fast & Furious.
Brian Volk-Weiss: Part of what we always like to do is find the real story behind what went down, so as it relates to Vin and The Rock, we definitely got a fair amount of scoop that has not been public. Everybody knows what happened; everybody knows that The Rock thinks Vin was not being professional. [As for] the specifics of what made a normally very, very diplomatic actor [and] producer, Dwayne Johnson, go public on Instagram slamming another star? That was not well known. What was the straw that broke the camel's back? We got the straw. What were the details that led up to that straw? We got those facts.
What were the ramifications after that came out? Everybody knows The Rock won't do another movie with Vin, and that the [Hobbs & Shaw] spin-off happened because of the fight, [but we] got tons and tons of details about the lead-up, the actual event, and then the after-effects of the breakdown in their relationship.
What We Know About The Rift In The Fast & Furious Family
The Fast & Furious franchise is built around the idea of family, with this being the key factor to the loyalty and relationships in the movies, and it seems to be Diesel's approach as a producer as well. Diesel became a producer and driving force of the franchise with Fast & Furious, the third installment of the franchise. Johnson joined the franchise as Hobbs in Fast Five, which many believe to be a turning point in the franchise as the action sequences became more CGI-heavy and absurdly fun.
Johnson and Diesel's feud became public in 2016 and has had lasting ramifications for the franchise. The clearest result was Johnson exiting F9 to lead the spin-off Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw with co-star Jason Statham. Johnson, who had become a standout in the franchise, has also refused to return for the upcoming Fast X even after Diesel asked him to return in a social media post, which Johnson described as manipulative. Tyrese Gibson, Fast & Furious co-star of Diesel and Johnson, has also posted on social media criticizing Johnson multiple times for breaking up the Fast & Furious family.
The reported reasons behind the Diesel and Johnson feud have varied, although Johnson has explained that it is largely due to their different styles of collaboration and leadership. Some reports have indicated that a difference in work ethic is at the heart of the problem, with Johnson becoming frustrated at Diesel for being late on multiple occasions. Icons Unearthed: Fast & Furious may finally have the answers that fans have longed to know about this long-standing feud. The docuseries, which premiered yesterday and continues on January 23, includes interviews with screenwriters, directors, and cast members who may be able to shed new light on what sparked this now-infamous issue between the two stars.