Dwayne Johnson confirms his return to the ‘Fast and Furious’ saga with a new film
After the unexpected breakthrough at the end of Fast X, Universal confirms: Dwayne Johnson is returning to the Fast and Furious saga with a new movie. Johnson will star in an untitled Fast project, which Universal and Johnson announced Thursday. The script is being signed by Fast saga veteran Chris Morgan. The return is a radical change for the actor, who had claimed, time and again, that he had left the action franchise after clashing with Fast star Vin Diesel.
The return of Chris Morgan
The new project also marks the return of Morgan, who was not involved in F9 or Fast X but wrote six of the franchise’s core films, as well as the 2019 spin-off, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, which starred Johnson and Jason Statham.
He will also be a producer of the film
Johnson will also produce this Fast movie with his Seven Bucks Productions partners Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia. Interestingly, joining Johnson on the producer roster is Fast star and Fast responsible Diesel, who will produce with Samantha Vincent through his company One Race. The producers are taking the franchise’s «family» theme very seriously, as Dany Garcia is Johnson’s ex-wife, while Hiram Garcia is Dany’s brother and Johnson’s former brother-in-law. Samantha Vincent is Diesel’s sister.
Not a spin-off
This new movie is not a spin-off like Hobbs & Shaw, nor is it a Fast 11 or Fast 12. According to sources, the movie will be a middle chapter between Fast X and Fast 11 – sort of like a Fast X.5, if you will. Other Fast actors are expected to be involved.
Together… but not mixed up
But fans shouldn’t get their hopes up too high for an on-screen meeting between Johnson and Diesel just yet. Sources also say Diesel is not expected to appear in this side chapter, though nothing is ruled out for future projects. In short, the two feuding megastars have found a way to reconcile behind the screen but not on screen, to bring Johnson back to the Fast franchise but not bring him back to Diesel’s family dinners.
Confrontation between Johnson and Diesel
Johnson and Diesel famously clashed on the set of Fate of the Furious in 2016, prompting Johnson to voice his displeasure on Instagram, pointing to an unidentified male co-star. Over the years, he has stated several times in the press that he would not return to the main franchise. «I wish them the best 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 without me,» Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021.
