Friends, Rivals, Bitter Foes to Friends Again: Timeline of Fast & Furious Co-Stars Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel’s Rivalry

Hollywood fans are well aware of Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel’s conflict. The Rock and the Fast and Furious actor reportedly had bad blood between them for a long time. After the release of Fast X, we know how the feud ended, i.e. peacefully, as DJ returned to reprise his role as Luke Hobbs. However, not everyone knows when it started and how it turned into a tough love brotherhood between the two megastars of Hollywood. 

In this article, we will go through the timeline of their friendship, feud, and reconciliation. So fasten your seatbelts as we dive into one of Hollywood’s most protracted recent sagas.

Dwayne Johnson joined the Fast franchise in 2011

Dwayne Johnson became a part of the Fast franchise in 2011 with the release of Fast Five. Similar to the fans, Vin Diesel had high hopes from The Brahma Bull’s presence in the movie. Safe to say The Rock delivered as per the hopes everyone had. However, the conflict began during the filming of Fate of the Furious around 2016.

Everything changed in 2016 when DJ shared a now-deleted Instagram post. In the post, he called unnamed cast members “candy a**es.” Later, actress Michelle Rodriguez and actor Tyrese Gibson also talked about the same following The Rock’s post.

The Rock’s Instagram post which started it all

In August 2016, Johnson shared an Instagram post where he wrote, “Some [male costars] conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don’t. The ones that don’t are too chicken s—t to do anything about it anyway. Candy a**es.”

He added, “When you watch this movie next April and it seems like I’m not acting in some of these scenes and my blood is legit boiling — you’re right.”

In a following post, The Great One shared how this conflict would be beneficial, but didn’t mention any names. He claimed family has conflicts, and he was open to talking about it.

Vin Diesel’s reply to DJ’s post!

The Bloodshot actor also had some words to say about Johnson’s comments. After wrapping up the filming of The Fate of the Furious in 2016 Diesel shared a video. 

While addressing the conflict he said, “Honestly, give me a second and I will tell you everything. Everything.” This implied that Diesel was willing to talk through the situation and resolve any conflict.

Was it a publicity stunt?

While appearing for an interview with the Los Angeles Times in November 2016, Johnson implied the feud was partly free publicity for The Fate of the Furious. 

He said, “I’ve been in the game a long time. Would Universal have preferred that didn’t happen? Sure, we talked about it. The irony is after that and as they do their tracking and all their analysis, the interest shot through the roof to a whole other level.”

DJ is a professional and held the success of the film over his reported conflict with Vin Diesel at the time.

Diesel said they are close friends

Ahead of the release of the eighth part of the franchise Diesel told USA Today, things were fine between him and Johnson “in a weird way”. The 56-year-old shared that the WWE legend appreciated his work for the franchise. Moreover, DJ was “Uncle Dwayne” at Diesel’s house.

Furthermore, Diesel said he had protected DJ like the Fast franchise. Also, he claimed The Rock knows about the same and appreciates it. Diesel called himself Johnson’s “big brother” of Hollywood.

Dwayne Johnson picks Fast Family

Back in 2017, Diesel shared a conversation he had with DJ to ET. He recalled calling The Rock over asking whether there should be a 8th part or not. As per the 52-year-old, Johnson said, “Brother, I will be there shoulder to shoulder with you to make sure it’s the best movie in history”.

However, the Fate of the Furious would serve as the last Fast film DJ was in before we saw him in Fast X post-credits.

The Rock initially silently left the franchise and said he wouldn’t return to F9 which included John Cena too. The 9th part got delayed and Tyrese Gibson blamed DJ for the same, but Diesel had another story.

Vin Diesel shows the brotherhood with The Rock

When Gibson blamed Johnson for the delay for F9, Diesel showed his support to The Rock via Instagram. He wrote, “Brotherhood … and all its complexities. I know there has been a lot of speculation as to why the Fast 9 release date was pushed … but it would be unfair to say it is anyone’s fault.”

He praised all the cast members and shared the reason for the delay of the ninth part of the franchise.

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Separate filming during Fate of the Furious

Fans noticed that in Fate of the Furious Diesel, and Johnson had separately filmed scenes. In a 2018 Rolling Stone interview, Johnson said, “That is correct. We were not in any scenes together.”

This was shocking to see for many fans. However, this movie was his last one before returning in 2023.

Johnson thanks Diesel 

The 51-year-old was happy with the success of Hobbs and Shaw. He left all the grudges and thanked Diesel for supporting him.

In a 2019 Instagram video DJ said, “Lastly, but not least, want to thank brother Vin for your support of Hobbs & Shaw. I’ll be seeing you soon, Toretto.”

Dwayne Johnson leaves the franchise

In July 2021, Johnson revealed to his fans about leaving the Fast and Furious franchise as he wasn’t seen in F9. He gave his best wishes to the cast for the ninth installment. 

Furthermore, DJ also shared his best wishes for the 10th and 11th parts of the franchise that were going to be made without him.

Regrets over the initial posts

In 2021, The Rock told Vanity Fair that it wasn’t his best day when he shared that Instagram post regarding the Fast cast. The Jumanji actor claimed he shouldn’t have shared that post ever.

Moreover, he also claimed that unnamed members of the Fate of the Furious crew “quietly thanked” him for speaking out about Diesel’s behavior.

We saw The Rock in Fast X and it surprised everyone. However, the start of that appearance was not a sweet one. 

Johnson said Diesel manipulated him

While The Rock left the franchise, Diesel took a chance to publicly request DJ to rejoin the Fast franchise in 2021. He shared an Instagram post mentioning Paul Walker. The Rock didn’t like this gesture and called it a form of “manipulation”.

The Rock told CNN, “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”

He had a conversation with Diesel previously and was happy with how his journey ended in the Fast franchise.

And Luke Hobbs finally returns

After a lot of speculation, director Louis Leterrier told The Hollywood Reporter that Luke Hobbs will be back. The Rock maintained silence over it and didn’t say a word until they released the film.

After Fast X ended, the post-credit scene showed The Rock finally revealing himself as Luke Hobbs. Later Diesel told ET that they have a great cast and said that he and his costars “lead with love”.

The Rock confirms his return

In June 2023, Johnson shared a post on his social media talking about his return. He told Luke Hobbs is officially back full-time for further Fast films. 

He said, “Despite us having our differences, me and Vin, we’ve been like brothers for years, and despite our differences, when you lead with — number one, resolve — but also you think about the future and plans that are much bigger than ourselves. Those bigger plans are the buildouts. They are the North Star.”

It seems that the conflict is resolved now and we might see them together in the next film. This was one of Hollywood’s most intriguing sagas that saw Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel become friends, then turn into bitter rivals and finally find peace with each other. Fans will now hope to see the two stars share the screen in the upcoming Fast films.

What is your thought about Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel’s conflict? Share your opinion below.

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