Vin Diesel is ready to bury the hatchet, but Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson shut him down in a very public way.
The topic came up during an interview with CNN. That’s where Johnson revealed he shut down Diesel privately and that there’s “no chance” he’ll return to the “Fast and Furious” franchise.
“This past June, when Vin and I actually connected not over social media, I told him directly — and privately — that I would not be returning to the franchise,” the “Jungle Cruise” star said.
He continued: “I was firm yet cordial with my words and said that I would always be supportive of the cast and always root for the franchise to be successful, but that there was no chance I would return. I privately spoke with my partners at Universal as well, all of whom were very supportive as they understand the problem.”
This total denial of reconciliation comes not long after Diesel made his intentions very public with a surprisingly honest plea on social media.
“My little brother Dwayne… the time has come,” Diesel shared to Instagram, “The world awaits the finale of Fast 10. As you know, my children refer to you as Uncle Dwayne in my house. There is not a holiday that goes by that they and you don’t send well wishes… but the time has come. Legacy awaits.”
Rather than be moved by his former co-star’s words, The Rock said he felt the whole thing had sinister motives.
“Vin’s recent public post was an example of his manipulation. I didn’t like that he brought up his children in the post, as well as Paul Walker’s death. Leave them out of it,” Johnson told CNN. “We had spoken months ago about this and came to a clear understanding. My goal all along was to end my amazing journey with this incredible Fast & Furious franchise with gratitude and grace. It’s unfortunate that this public dialogue has muddied the waters.”
The feud wasn’t likely to end that easily. The pair apparently clashed on the set of “The Fate of the Furious” in 2016 and spent the next few years trading insults through interviews and public forums.
For example, Diesel told Men’s Health in 2021 that he gave Johnson a “tough love” approach to develop the character.
“It was a tough character to embody, the Hobbs character,” Diesel said. “My approach at the time was a lot of tough love to assist in getting that performance where it needed to be. As a producer to say, Okay, we’re going to take Dwayne Johnson, who’s associated with wrestling, and we’re going to force this cinematic world, audience members, to regard his character as someone that they don’t know — Hobbs hits you like a ton of bricks. That’s something that I’m proud of, that aesthetic. That took a lot of work. We had to get there and sometimes, at that time, I could give a lot of tough love. Not Felliniesque, but I would do anything I’d have to do in order to get performances in anything I’m producing.”
Johnson didn’t stay quiet about that assertion. He told The Hollywood Reporter, “I laughed and I laughed hard. I think everyone had a laugh at that. And I’ll leave it at that.”
He continued: “And that I’ve wished them well. I wish them well on Fast 9. And I wish them the best of luck on Fast 10 and Fast 11 and the rest of the Fast & Furious movies they do that will be without me.”
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Source: Dailywire
