Fast X director breaks down Dwayne Johnson's surprise return as Hobbs: "That day was absolutely incredible"

Fast & Furious has had plenty of beloved characters in its more than two decades on screen as the Fast family has grown. But undoubtedly one of the best introductions was Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs who first zoomed into the franchise in Fast Five.

After some reported disagreements behind the scenes, we had thought we'd seen the last of the former agent – at least that was until the final moments of Fast X. In the movie's post-credits scene, we see him lured into a trap by Dante (Jason Momoa), and it seems he'll play a big part in the family's final face-off in Fast 11 (that is if that is the final movie – more on that here).

It's a pretty dark scene, featuring a gruffer and more hardened Hobbs than we're used to. Speaking to GamesRadar+, director Louis Leterrier opens up about the moment, and why they needed to strike a darker tone than viewers might have expected.

"It's a scene in its own context as we just go from something really dark," he says of the ending of the movie. "The moment you film Dwayne Johnson, in any shape or form, you recognize it's Dwayne Johnson, so I was like, 'How can I change the tone?' Hide it in the shadows, put a mask on, and use lights and flares so you’re distracted by the filmmaking. So you’re not focusing on who the camera is filming and what the camera is pointed at. That was the idea."

Fast X packshot — (Image credit: Universal)

He adds: "Our movie finishes in a pretty dark place. I couldn’t come back up and do a comedy scene, you know, it's the continuation of what this dark place is. It’s the true reveal of Dante's master plan and what he aims to do. I mean, what an honor to have Dwayne Johnson come back to the main franchise, that day was absolutely incredible."

It looks like Hobbs may be sticking around for a while too, as rumors of another spin-off for the beloved character have started. In the DVD and Blu-ray extras, Vin Diesel also breaks his silence on the return of the character. He shares that "it was no easy task" to get Hobbs back, but he adds: "To tie up all these storylines, this character needed to come back into the mythology." Now, we can’t wait to see that reunion on screen.

Fast X is available to Download & Keep now and on 4K, Blu-ray & DVD on September 4. For more from Leterrier, check out what he had to say about Jason Momoa’s incredible performance as Dante, and what they held back in the final cut.