Vin Diesel asks "little brother" Dwayne Johnson to return as Hobbs in Fast and Furious 10

Fast and Furious 6
(Image credit: Universal)

Fast and Furious may be all about Family, but one feud has been grabbing headlines for some time. Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson's relationship seems stuck between a rock and a hard place for some time now, but Diesel has now reached out and attempted to put aside their rivalry for something greater than themselves: Fast and Furious 10.

"My little brother Dwayne... the time has come," writes the Dom Toretto actor alongside a picture of the pair. "The world awaits the finale of Fast 10. As you know, my children refer to you as Uncle Dwayne in my house. There is not a holiday that goes by that they and you don’t send well wishes... but the time has come. Legacy awaits."

"I told you years ago that I was going to fulfill my promise to Pablo," referring to Fast colleague Paul Walker. "I swore that we would reach and manifest the best Fast in the finale that is 10! I say this out of love... but you must show up, do not leave the franchise idle you have a very important role to play. Hobbs can’t be played by no other. I hope that you rise to the occasion and fulfill your destiny."

Diesel has recently spoken about showing Johnson "tough love" on the set of Fast Five, the first Fast and Furious movie to feature the character Hobbs. "My approach at the time was a lot of tough love to assist in getting that performance where it needed to be," he said while promoting Fast and Furious 9. "As a producer to say, okay, we’re going to take Dwayne Johnson, who’s associated with wrestling, and we’re going to force this cinematic world, audience members, to regard his character as someone that they don’t know – Hobbs hits you like a ton of bricks."

"That’s something that I’m proud of, that aesthetic," he continued. "That took a lot of work. We had to get there and sometimes, at that time, I could give a lot of tough love. Not Felliniesque, but I would do anything I’d have to do in order to get performances in anything I’m producing."

One thing to note: Johnson already had multiple feature-film credits under his belt by the time he took on Fast Five. The feud, meanwhile, erupted during the filming of Fast and Furious 8.

The Fast Saga will continue with a tenth installment, which looks set to be split into two parts. Diesel will be returning, but the world awaits to see if Johnson – who also appeared as Hobbs in the spin-off Hobbs and Shaw – will also be back. In the meantime, check our ranking of the best Fast and Furious movies

Jack Shepherd
Freelance Journalist

Jack Shepherd is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar. Jack used to work at The Independent as a general culture writer before specializing in TV and film for the likes of GR+, Total Film, SFX, and others. You can now find Jack working as a freelance journalist and editor.