There are a couple of things you can expect to see when watching a movie from the Fast & Furious franchise. You can expect to see fast cars, high-powered anime-level stunts, plenty of Corona, and, most importantly, family.
But like all families, there are times when there’s conflict, and the feud between Vin Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is so well documented that there have been entire timelines put together to track the fallout from beginning to end.
Assuming that it does end. Vin Diesel would certainly like it to.
Hobbs Can’t Be Played by No Other
With Fast 10 on the horizon (which Diesel calls the finale of the series), Diesel has unleashed the ultimate anime attack, one that’s reserved for moments when there’s nothing else left in your arsenal: talking. From sharing anecdotes about his children calling Johnson “Uncle Dwayne,” to bringing up promises made to the late Paul Walker (Pablo), the Instagram post truly does read like an epic speech the protagonist gives to rally everyone into the battle ahead.
Diesel even ends it by telling Johnson that it’s time to “fulfill your destiny.”
View this post on Instagram
“My little brother Dwayne… the time has come. 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. 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.”
Fans were quick to respond to Diesel’s post, with boils down to a lot of comments about “family” and how you kinda envision this post being penned to some emotionally swelling music.
Vin Diesel uses the internet as if it were a great mountain top to tell the world great truths, just as it was intended.
— Ed 🌎(supervillian) Wong💆🏻♂️🌊☄⚒ (@eds_wrong) November 7, 2021
Vin Diesel treating his Car Movie Franchise’s finale like it’s The Fate Of Middle-Earth, and speaking with the energy of Aragorn trying to unite the armies is just incredible.
— Ritesh (@riteshwriter) November 8, 2021
Others pointed out that it, um, looked like Vin Diesel may have edited the photo he used so he looked bigger than a man who is known as “The Rock.”
Does that diminish the effectiveness of the impassioned plea?
vin diesel really typed out this shonen speech while photoshopping himself to be bigger than the rock I want to cry hes my favorite peraon in the world pic.twitter.com/s4ZFHpR3uH
— Enhanced Unmend (@AerospaceCowboy) November 8, 2021
Lol did Vin Diesel edit himself to be wider than The Rock pic.twitter.com/C9Ckg1FYc7
— nicholas beans (@nicholasbeans) November 7, 2021
Fast & Furious Feud Recap
The feud, which dates back to 2016, is said to have begun with a now-deleted Instagram post Johnson made about the way some of his male co-stars acted on set. However, as we all know, once something is on the Internet it’s there forever. The post originally read as follows:
“My female co-stars are always amazing and I love ’em. My male co-stars however are a different story. Some conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don’t. The ones that don’t are too chicken sh*t to do anything about it anyway. Candy asses. When you watch this movie next April and it seems like I’m not acting in some of these scenes and my blood is legit boiling—you’re right.”
Candy asses, of course, refers to one of the things “The Rock” would say back in his wrestling days, but even if you didn’t know that, the tone of the phrase is clear. While he didn’t name Diesel directly, it didn’t take long to figure out that was who was being referred to, especially since he only agreed to return for The Fate of the Furious if he didn’t share any scenes with Diesel.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, he reflected on the moment that caused the feud.
“It caused a firestorm. Yet interestingly enough…[it was] as if every single crew member found their way to me and either quietly thanked me or sent me a note. But, yeah, it wasn’t my best day, sharing that. I shouldn’t have shared that. Because at the end of the day, that goes against my DNA. I don’t share things like that. And I take care of that kind of bullshit away from the public. They don’t need to know that. That’s why I say it wasn’t my best day.”
He went on to say, “No, I meant what I said. For sure. I mean what I say when I say it. But to express it publicly was not the right thing to do.”
While he hasn’t responded to Diesel’s recent Instagram post, I’m not sure if that will be enough to get Johnson to return. In order for an apology to mean anything, there has to be a willingness to change the behavior that caused the rift. While Diesel’s post is very passionate, there’s nothing in it that actually addresses his own actions that led to Johnson not wanting to work with him anymore.
Wanting to fulfill the promise he made Paul Walker is touching, and he’s right about there only being one person who can play Hobbs, a man who can flex off the arm cast he’s wearing, but if Vin Diesel really wants things to work out, he’s gonna have to hold himself accountable instead of solely relying on “family” to bring everyone back together.
Does legacy truly await?
(Image: Universal Pictures)
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Published: Nov 9, 2021 09:33 am