Fast 8, a.k.a. The Fate of the Furious, is finally about to hit theaters, and from what's been shown in previews, it looks like it could be the most insane entry yet in the Fast and Furious franchise. However, the production wasn't without its issues, as last year there was a well-publicized feud between Vin Diesel and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. That particular tiff between the two actors has since died down, and Diesel said last week that it was blown out of proportion. But with The Fate of the Furious literally only hours away from release, it appears things may not be 100% smoothed over, as it's being reported that Diesel made sure a scene featuring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason Statham was cut from the movie.
Supposedly there was a scene in The Fate of the Furious between Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw that's described as a "short tag" to spotlight the "rapport" these two had built over the course of the movie. However, the scene was reportedly shot without Vin Diesel's knowledge, and when he learned about it, he became "enraged" and called Universal to "air his grievances," The studio subsequently recalled all the theatrical prints and made sure the scene was cut. Another insider who spoke to The Wrap claims that the scene between Johnson and Statham was mainly shot as bonus content for The Fate of the Furious' home release, and upon reviewing it, studio officials and filmmakers decided not to include it in the theatrical cut.
Whether this directly had anything to do with what went down between Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson last year or is unrelated is unclear, but assuming the above information is true, it's puzzling why Vin Diesel would react so strongly to a little scene between his costars. Even though Diesel is one of the series' main leads, having appeared in all the Fast and Furious movies except for 2 Fast 2 Furious, what's ultimately shot is up to director F. Gary Gray and his crew. Regardless, it sounds like this scene would have been a good opportunity to spotlight Johnson's Luke Hobbs (who was introduced in 2011's Fast Five) and potentially set up that long-talked about spinoff movie starring Hobbs. That's not a done deal yet, as the series has two more main installments planned, but keep an eye out later in the year to see if this cut scene is attached to the Blu-ray/digital HD release as a special feature.
The Fate of the Furious will see Dominic Toretto betraying his family after coming into contact with Charlize Theron's Cipher. As seen in the previews, Luke Hobbs will be imprisoned in the same facility where Deckard Shaw was sent following the events of Furious 7, and after both of them are broken out, Hobbs and his allies will have no choice but to work with Deckard to stop Dom and take down Cipher.
The Fate of the Furious will play in theaters across the U.S. starting tomorrow. Click here to read our review of the movie.
