People come and go through the Fast and Furious saga, whether it’s characters on the screen, or filmmakers in the director’s chair. Justin Lin, for example, returns to the franchise after sitting out Furious 7 and The Fate of the Furious, and he’s making sure that Sung Kang’s thought-deceased racer Han is able to come back to the mix. Knowing that the Fast saga is working its way to a two-part finale that is expected to close off this segment of the story, the ReelBlend podcast wanted to know if The Rock was on the “table,” so to speak, in terms of coming back for the conclusion, and Lin tells us why he thinks that’s possible in the exclusive clip above.
Anyone reading this likely knows that the Fast and Furious Saga experimented with a high-profile spinoff when it branched the two characters of Hobbs (The Rock) and Shaw (Jason Statham) into their own movie. It explored the cultures and backgrounds of the diametrically opposed protagonists, but really was just an expensive excuse to have director David Leitch blow a lot of shit up while Rocky and Statham hurled insults at each other.
But if the Fast saga were to come to some natural conclusion in a two part Fast 10 (or FasTen Your Seatbelts, as ReelBlend co-host Jake Hamilton swears it needs to be called), then it would be a missed opportunity not to have Dwayne Johnson play some part in the finale. As I noted in the interview clip above, I think bringing The Rock into the franchise for Fast Five was exactly the invigorating jolt that the series needed at that time, and his attitude was a perfect fit for the in-on-the-joke franchise.
Now, behind the scenes, there have been rumors and stories run regarding The Rock having potential beef with some members of the Fast “family” (both Vin Diesel and Tyrese), and harsh words have been said over social media that many assumed led to the Hobbs & Shaw spinoff. So maybe a few egos would need to be massaged before Dwayne Johnson rejoined the “family,” But in terms of the storytelling practicality of it, F9 director Justin definitely sees Hobbs as an option, telling CinemaBlend’s ReelBlend podcast:
I think that’s always been our approach. … So many of the conversations I have is about characters that are not even in there, but are still, obviously, they are living and breathing in this universe. On this one, when I came back, I was thinking a lot about Hobbs and Shaw, and all of the other characters. I never think of them as being gone, for sure.
So we will soon be able to see what Justin Lin has in store for his beloved Fast and Furious cast when F9 opens in theaters on June 25. Unless you are reading this from an international market, where the movie has been screening since May 19. Don’t spoil the ending for the rest of us!
