The Rock and Vin Diesel’s Feud has become increasingly infamous in Hollywood. Most people would claim that these actors are some of the finest in the industry. They are certainly some of the highest-paid in the cast of the Fast and The Furious franchise. It was expected that their pairing would lead to an onscreen synastry the likes of which we had never seen before. However, it led to a grueling conflict that has overshadowed the Fast and The Furious franchise itself. Let us re-iterate for you how it all happened one event after another in the entire feud of the Rock and Vin Diesel:
2016 August – The Rock’s Instagram
In a post, that has been deleted since The Rock shared his frustration with his male co-stars on the set of The Fate of The Furious. He made a post on 8th August 2016, where he applauded his female co-stars and called his male co-stars “candy asses”. Although the actor was gracious enough to leave out specific names in his post, it was widely speculated that the post was aimed at Vin Diesel. This is where the feud actually began.
2016 November – We Get confirmation
After, the Instagram post, things went a little more than viral. Finally, The Rock admitted to Los Angles Times what the fans had been speculating for quite some time. He clarified, “was very clear about what I said”, hinting at his candy-ass comment and then tried to redirect the discussion by spinning it as a publicity tactic. But the cracks between the co-stars were already trying to appear to the larger public.
2017 April – Admission by Vin Diesel
In an interview with USA Today in April of 2017, we finally got confirmation from Vin Diesel that there was something amiss between him and Johnson. However, Diesel kept on reassuring fans that him and The Rock still loved each other like family, “It’s not always easy being an alpha. And it’s two alphas.” Vin also said that he wanted to support The Rock in all his endeavors in the future,” Dwayne has only got one Vin in his life. Dwayne Johnson only has one big brother in this film world and that’s me”
2017 April – The Premiere
Fast 8 premiered in April 2017 and both The Rock and Vin Diesel were in attendance. Vin kept on re-enforcing his narrative of ‘family’ on set and kept calling The Rock “Uncle Dwayne” but in reality, things were between the two. The Rock later chalked it up to “Philosophical differences”.
October 2017 – Vin Defends The Rock
In 2017 the fans received the news that F9 will be delayed. Since we did not have the pandemic to blame at the time, fans decided to blame The Rock. This included co-star Tyrese Gibson who took to Instagram and attacked The Rock, saying that he wanted to make the franchise all about himself. Vin did not let this fly and came to Johnson’s defense claiming that the franchise needed some maintenance and blame should not be leveled at Hobbs and Shaw.
2018 April – Clarification after The Fate of The Furious
After the release of The Fate of The Furious, we got clarification from The Rock that things had been escalating between him and Vin Diesel over the past few years. So much so, that the pair did not film a single scene together in this movie. It was also confirmed by The Rock that he and Diesel had decided that the best course of action would be to not work together at all for the foreseeable future. The Rock even said that had “no ill will” for his co-star but quickly went back on his words.
2019 September – The Rock comes back to the Family
After the release of Hobbs and Shaw in 2019, The Rock went on IGTV to promote the movie. In this video, he ended his monologue by calling Vin Diesel his brother. Although this might have been part of a script written for him by the studio, it still meant a lot coming from the actor who went no part of the family narrative. He said, “Lastly, but not least, want to thank brother Vin for your support of Hobbs & Shaw,”. This seemed to the fans to be the start of a new era.
2021 June – Diesel finally breaks his silence
In an interview with Men’s Health Vin Diesel finally shed some light on where the feud might have originated from. The actor said that when Dwayne came to the franchise in 2011 he was transitioning to the movie industry from the wrestling world. So it was understandable that the pair did not see eye to eye when Vin decided to give The Rock “tough love” for his performances. This aggravated over three movies and the pair finally ended up in conflict with each other.
2021 November – Vin Diesel Pleads Dwayne Johnson to Return for F10
Things started to pick up the pace again after Diesel’s interview. With the finale of the Fast and The Furious franchise approaching fast, there was an inclination that Dwayne Johnson might never return. So Vin Diesel took to Instagram and publicly posted a letter pleading The Rock to return. He called him his “Little Brother” and continued on pleading with Johnson by referring to Paul Walker and the legacy of the franchise. The Rock, on the other hand, laughed off the entire thing and claimed that he will never return to the franchise for whatever reason.
2021 December – The Rock Rejects It
Here’s what Johnson said recently:
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.
Well, I don’t think anything is possible for Fast 10, or for The Rock and Diesel’s friendship after this. Maybe we’d get another Hobbs and Shaw event to tie up that loose end. But that’s about it. Unless this new statement from the Rock is just supposed to make us believe that there’s no possible future, and when he returns, everyone will be as excited as they were in the recent Spider-Man movie. Although, I believe The Rock is not a Werewolf like Garfield.
Let’s see what the future holds for FnF fans.
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