It’s official: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is returning to the Fast and Furious franchise. The Black Adam star made a cameo appearance in the post credits scene of the franchise's latest installment, Fast X, which led many fans to speculate that a return is on the cards.
They were right as Johnson and Universal Pictures have now announced that the actor will reprise his role as lawman Luke Hobbs in a new, untitled project.
Johnson took to his Twitter account to announce the news. After revealing that his character, Luke Hobbs, "will be returning to the Fast & Furious franchise," the former wrestler stated that the fans’ reaction to his cameo appearance in Fast X blew "us" away.
Hope you’ve got your funderwear on…
HOBBS IS BACK.
And he just got lei’d 🌺😈Luke Hobbs will be returning to the Fast & Furious franchise.
Your reactions around the world to Hobbs’ return in Fast X have blown us away 🤯🙏🏾🌍
The next Fast & Furious film you’ll see the… pic.twitter.com/vvtBgTBOnl
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) June 1, 2023
Next, Johnson wrote that the film will be a "Hobbs movie" and will "serve as a fresh, new chapter & set up for FASTX: Part II."
The Hollywood Reporter provides more context on the film. According to the publication’s sources, the film is not a spinoff but "a bridging chapter between Fast X and Fast 11 — more of a Fast X.5."
Apart from Johnson, we do not know who else will feature in the project. However, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Chris Morgan, who has penned six of the franchise’s mainline titles as well as the Hobbs & Shaw spinoff, will write the script.
Johnson will also serve as one of the film’s producers under the banner of his Seven Bucks Productions company. He will be joined by his partners Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia, as well as Diesel and his partner Samantha Vincent on behalf of their One Race production company.
Morgan, Jeff Kirschenbaum, and Neal Moritz will work with the names already mentioned as producers on the film.
For fans of the adrenaline-fueling franchise, Johnson’s return is good news, especially since he has long maintained that he will never star in the franchise again. The actor had a very public falling out with the franchise’s headliner Diesel and rebuffed several attempts by the latter to bring him back into the fold.
Fortunately, their feud appears to be a thing of the past. Alongside his social media announcement, Johnson also wrote, "Last summer Vin and I put all the past behind us. We’ll lead with brotherhood and resolve - and always take care of the franchise, characters & FANS that we love."
Despite this, Diesel will not feature in the Hobbs standalone. However, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the two stars could very well feature together in other installments of the film – this means that Johnson might yet appear in Fast 11.
Speaking of, the Fast & Furious franchise isn't ending with the next film. Last month, Diesel revealed during an interview that Universal Pictures has asked him to extend the franchise by one more film.
We certainly can’t fault them especially since the franchise continues to be a major box office draw. For one, it grossed $319 million on its debut weekend which is the second-highest debut gross of any film this year so far.
Fast X is currently showing in theaters across the world.
