Having swore never to return to the Fast & Furious franchise on account of his beef with Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson surprised everyone – including his own integrity – when he popped up at the end of Fast X to announce his comeback.
While you’d think that would draw a line under the long-running beef between the two bald-headed behemoths, it’s not quite that simple. After all, they managed to co-star in The Fate of the Furious despite barely even being on the same set, while The Rock was announced for another Luke Hobbs spin-off without being confirmed for the cast of Fast X: Part 2.
Regardless, director Louis Leterrier maintained in an interview with ComicBook that not only are they back on good terms, they’re even texting buddies as the rift between the ego-driven stars continues healing.
“I just like the idea of them coming back together. What I realized – I’m like you, I was a fan reading – they’ve been talking all along. They were like text buddies wishing each other ‘Happy Birthday,’ ‘Merry Christmas.’… They’re really good. There’s no fight. Honestly, this set is so lovely, so fun, so enjoyable. … I’m not giving you lip service. I really had a great time. Like I was nervous. I was nervous, you know, I walked in, I was nervous, but everybody works so hard and wants the best for these franchises. Yeah. No, it’s really about forward momentum and we have it.”
People who don’t like each other make movies together all the time, but until we get concrete proof that the pair have hugged it out and put their differences to one side on a permanent basis, it’s easy to believe that the lure of a box office bonanza and a gigantic payday did a much better job of bringing Johnson back into the family than the prospect of working with Diesel again.