Dwayne The Rock Johnson Rejects Vin Diesel's Plea For Him To Join Fast & Furious 10

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Johnson has turned down Vin Diesel's recent request to return to Fast & Furious 10. For the past few years, The Rock and Diesel have been feuding. While the pairing of these two giant action stars appeared to be a prescription for perfect movie chemistry, the massive personalities of both performers made it difficult for them to get along. Although Johnson first appeared in the Fast & Furious franchise in 2011's Fast Five, the feud was not made public until 2017's The Fate of the Furious.

Johnson commended his female co-stars and attacked some of his male co-stars from The Fate of the Furious in an Instagram post on August 8, 2016 (which has since been deleted). While Johnson referred to these co-stars as "sugar asses," he did not name any of them by name; yet, suspicions rapidly spread that the tweet was directed at Diesel and his behavior on set. Johnson and opponent Diesel have both recognized their feud in different interviews and social media posts since Johnson's original statement. Despite the fact that the two have supposedly reconciled in recent months, Johnson appears to believe Diesel is not being completely honest, especially in light of Diesel's recent social media plea. Diesel used Instagram in November to ask for his "little brother Dwayne" to return to the franchise, which Johnson appears to have turned down.

Johnson believes that Diesel's latest request for a comeback to the Fast & Furious franchise is an example of the actor's "manipulation" in an interview with CNN Entertainment. According to Johnson, he and Diesel had private chats in which the WWE superstar stated that he would not be returning to the Fast & Furious franchise. Johnson claims to have been "strong yet gracious with [his] statements" and that he would "always be supportive of the cast," but that there is "no chance [he] would return." Below is Johnson's response to Diesel's request that he return to the franchise:

"I was very surprised by Vin's recent post. 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. 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.

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. 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. Regardless, I'm confident in the 'Fast' universe and its ability to consistently deliver for the audience, and I truly wish my former co-stars and crew members the best of luck and success in the next chapter."

In the interview, Johnson also explains that he didn't like Diesel bringing up his children in the Instagram post, in which Diesel wrote that his children refer to Johnson as "Uncle Dwayne." Diesel also said, "there's not a holiday that goes by that [his children] and [Johnson] doesn't send well wishes." Additionally, in the interview, Johnson also says he didn't appreciate Diesel bringing Paul Walker's tragic death into the equation. Diesel wrote in his Instagram post that he was going to "fulfill [his] promise to Pablo" (Walker's nickname) in making the "best Fast in the finale that is 10!" Johnson appears to have simply responded to these things by telling Diesel to "leave them out of it," in reference to both Walker and Diesel's children.

Fans of Luke Hobbs, Johnson's Fast & Furious character, maybe unhappy to find that The Rock has no plans to return to the franchise. Despite reports that he and Diesel had reconciled in the past, Johnson seemed to be adamant that he will never work with Diesel again. With that said, there's still a chance Johnson will return in the Hobbs & Shaw sequel to the Fast & Furious franchise. Aside from Johnson, fans can expect to see their favorite characters return in Fast & Furious 10 when it hits theatres in 2023.