While promoting Disney’s Jungle Cruise, The Rock told told an interviewer that he wishes the Fast and Furious crew “well” as they go on to make Fast 10 and Fast 11 movies “without me.” The comment sure made it sound like he was done playing Luke Hobbs in the main franchise films. However, the remarks were in response to a question about his long-running and still-simmering feud with Vin Diesel, so it was hard to gauge how serious The Rock was being about his future with the franchise.
Well, according to his Seven Bucks production partner and president, Hiram Garcia, The Rock was as serious as a heart attack.
While sitting down with Collider, Garcia confirmed that The Rock (or “DJ,” as he calls him) will not appear in the Fast 10 and Fast 11 because he made the decision to walk away from the main franchise films after getting into his public beef with Diesel while making The Fate of the Furious. That being said, The Rock is still committed to making Hobbs and Shaw 2 happen, which is good news for fans of the team-up film starring Jason Statham:
After filming Fast 8, DJ made the clear decision to close the Fast & Furious chapter for all the evident reasons. He wished them all well and shifted our focus on to other story telling avenues. So while he will not be in F10 or F11, that won’t in any way interfere with our Hobbs plans. Obviously all these characters exist in the Fast universe and we love to see all aspects of that universe thrive and succeed.
“For all the evident reasons” is, of course, in reference to The Rock’s ongoing trouble with Diesel. When asked to respond by The Hollywood Reporter for his thoughts on Diesel claiming their feud was simply the result of good old-fashioned, “tough love” method acting on Diesel’s part, The Rock made it very clear how he felt.
“I laughed and I laughed hard,” The Rock said. “I think everyone had a laugh at that. And I’ll leave it at that.”
(Via Collider)