“Legacy awaits,” according to Diesel

Dwayne Johnson (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic) + Vin Diesel (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Vin Diesel has extended an olive branch to Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, campaigning for the former wrestler, current actor and recent one-time rapper to appear in the final instalment of the Fast & Furious series.

In a new post shared to his Instagram, Diesel asked Johnson to “rise to the occasion and fulfil [his] destiny”. He’s adamant that Johnson “must show up” to complete the narrative arc of his character Hobbs, because, according to Diesel, he has “a very important role to play” and “Hobbs can’t be played by no other”.

“I told you years ago that I was going to [fulfil] my promise to Pablo,” Diesel said. “I swore that we would reach and manifest the best Fast in the finale that is 10!”

Take a look at Diesel’s full post below:

Johnson’s last appearance in the Fast & Furious series was its 2019 spin-off Hobbs & Shaw, which he headlined alongside co-star Jason Statham. He debuted as DSS agent Luke Hobbs in 2011’s Fast Five, continuing his arc in 2013’s Fast & Furious 6, 2015’s Furious 7 and 2017’s The Fate Of The Furious.

He’d previously said he was done with the franchise, owing his exit to a longstanding beef between himself and Diesel. Diesel opened up about the feud in a recent interview with Men’s Health, reflecting on the “tough love” he gave Johnson, which he said he’d used to get the best performance out of him.

Johnson responded to the comments in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, saying he “laughed and laughed hard” when he read them. He also wished his former co-stars “the best of luck on Fast 10 and Fast 11”, saying that “the rest of the Fast & Furious movies they do will be without me.”

He reiterated those claims last month, saying the crew working with him on the Fast franchise “quietly thanked” him for speaking out against Diesel. Their feud had been public and ongoing since at least 2016, when it was reported that the pair were being kept apart on the press tour for The Fate Of The Furious.

The rivalry was stoked by Johnson taking to Instagram to brand Diesel “chicken shit” and “candy ass”, quipping that “some conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don’t”.

Tentatively set for release on April 7, 2023, Fast & Furious 10 will see the return of Cardi B’s character Leysa, and may be split into two parts. It comes after the home video release of F9: The Director’s Cut, which landed back in September.

In related news, a Fast & Furious spin-off starring Charlize Theron, who played the main antagonist in 2017’s The Fate of the Furious, is reportedly in the works.