The Fast & Furious franchise saw two high-octane personalities struggle to get along as Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson publicly feuded. Now, one of their co-stars addresses the source of the tension between the “Alpha” actors.
Speaking with Dax Shepherd on the Armchair Expert podcast, Cena acknowledged he heard talk about Diesel and Johnson’s issues with each other dating back to their turbulent time together on the set of The Fate of the Furious. According to the legendary wrestler-turned-actor, the beef between Johnson and Diesel wasn’t surprising given their personalities and drive to be the best in their profession. “There’s certainly rumors about that. I can’t deny that. You have two very alpha, driven people. You get two, there can only be one,” he said.
Cena joined the Fast & Furious franchise during F9: The Fast Saga, portraying Jakob Toretto, the younger brother of Diesel’s central character Dominic Toretto. Though much of the Diesel-Johnson feud happened before Cena boarded the action film series, he understands why tension can build up, especially as Johnson joined the franchise for Fast Five while Diesel has been the face of the franchise since its inception. Cena relayed his feelings about joining the film series for F9.
“Man, you gotta remember I got dropped into a locker room where [we have] generational vets. ‘What’d your dad do?’ ‘Wrestle.’ ‘What’d your granddad do?’ ‘Wrestle.’ I’ve been in that environment; know the room and just kind of adapt to what’s going on. I’m being invited into someone’s home, into someone’s family. And regardless of how they look physically in comparison to another human being, this is one IP that has had nine installments and it’s an action movie — that’s rarefied air. At the very least, there has to be respect for that,” he said.
Johnson and Diesel’s feud spanned several Fast & Furious films, with Johnson accusing his co-star of arrogance and “The Rock” skipping The Fast Saga due to the conflict. Fans were shocked, however, to see Johnson make a post-credits cameo in Fast X, reprising his role as lawman Luke Hobbs as he engaged in a tense conversation with Jason Momoa’s villain, Dante Reyes. Johnson publicly buried the hatchet with Diesel, insisting they’d “lead with brotherhood” after the duo squashed their issues last summer.
The Fast and Furious Franchise Eyes Its Endgame
The surprise return of Johnson paved the way for a planned spinoff film based on his character, which is set between Fast X and Fast X Part 2, the final installment of the Universal action franchise. Cena, who previously had his own issues with Johnson after Johnson left the WWE for Hollywood, featured in Fast X. However, his character was killed off in the movie, seemingly bringing his involvement with the Fast & Furious series to an end.
Diesel recently offered a positive development update for Fast X Part 2, promising a fitting and emotional end to the Fast & Furious franchise, which has been in existence since 2001’s The Fast and the Furious. Fast X received mixed reviews following its premiere last May, making $714 million worldwide against a mammoth $340 million budget. The upcoming franchise finale will see Louis Leterrier return to direct and will reportedly return to its street racing roots, potentially with a new villain replacing Momoa’s character.
Fast X is available for streaming via Prime Video and Apple TV.
