WARNING: Major spoilers ahead for Fast X. Do not keep reading unless you hate surprises.
The latest installment in the Fast and Furious franchise asks a ton of questions. For one–is it the last movie? Probably not. Is it the best one? Maybe! Is Jason Momoa’s character actually that insane? You bet! But there are even more surprises in store when fans flood the theaters with pizza this weekend for Fast X.
There was one key moment in the film that has kind of been spoiled for some people, and that is the big reunion between Vin Diesel and The Rock/Dwayne Johnson.
If you are unaware (or perhaps living under a…Rock….), Diesel and Johnson had a pretty messy feud over the last few years which led The Rock’s character Hobbs to be absent from the most recent films. It seemed like there was going to be no reconciliation between the two of them… until Fast X director Louis Leterrier stepped in. Leterrier told The Hollywood Reporter that he was the one who proposed a peace treaty between Johnson and Diesel.
The peace treaty … I kind of [brokered it]. We all did. Ultimately, the movie did. We sort of looked at each other from across the room and winked a few months back, saying, ‘We should work together.’ And then I had this idea and I presented it to the producers and the studio. And then we reached out to Dwayne and his team, and said, ‘Just come and watch the movie. You have to love the movie first.’ So he came to see the movie and really loved it, and then we started talking. It was very smooth, and frankly, as a fan, I could not conceive continuing the franchise without either Dwayne or Gal Gadot.
This franchise was built by actors and characters. The set pieces are wonderful. They keep you entertained and keep you shoving popcorn in your mouth, but the characters make this franchise what it is.
Johnson wasn’t the only high-profile surprise (though the Colosseum also gets a nice little cameo in there): Gal Gadot’s returns as her character Gisele, who was introduced way back in 2009’s Fast & Furious.
Leterrier, who had previously worked with Gadot, said that her cameo was the final piece of the Fast puzzle that made everything come together. “I was lucky enough to see Gal Gadot and give her a big hug and a thank you at the end of the shoot. That was a highlight for me,” he explained. “So, now that I get to not only work with her but also bring back Gisele into the franchise, I’m the happiest fan in the world.”
Maybe Leterrier is a happy fan, but there is literally nobody who is happier than Vin Diesel at this point. This man could play Dom Toretto breaking out of his nursing home to hijack an ambulance and he will still be all smiles. Maybe The Rock will be there with him!