Hollywood
star
Dwayne
Johnson
has
once
and
for
all
ruled
out
the
possibility
of
him
returning
to
the
"Fast
&
Furious" franchise.
Despite
a
recent
attempt
at
reconciliation
from
lead
star
Vin
Diesel,
Johnson
said
he
remains
firm
on
decision
to
not
appear
in
any
future
"Fast
&
Furious"
movie.
"I
was
very
surprised
by
Vin's
recent
post.
This
past
June,
when
Vin
and
I
actually
connected
not
over
social
media,
I
told
him
directly
-
and
privately
-
that
I
would
not
be
returning
to
the
franchise.
"I
was
firm
yet
cordial
with
my
words
and
said
that
I
would
always
be
supportive
of
the
cast
and
always
root
for
the
franchise
to
be
successful,
but
that
there
was
no
chance
I
would
return.
I
privately
spoke
with
my
partners
at
Universal
as
well,
all
of
whom
were
very
supportive
as
they
understand
the
problem,"
Johnson
told
CNN.
The
49-year-old
actor
played
the
role
of
Luke
Hobbs
in
the
long-running
film
series,
beginning
with
2011's
"Fast
Five".
He
later
reprised
the
role
for
"Fast
&
Furious
6"
(2013),
"Furious
7"
(2015)
and
"The
Fate
of
the
Furious"
(2017)
as
well
as
the
2019
spinoff
"Hobbs
&
Shaw".
Johnson
had
a
major
fall
out
with
Diesel
during
the
making
of
"The
Fate
of
the
Furious"
that
resulted
in
the
actor
dropping
out
of
the
latest
instalment,
"Fast
and
Furious
9",
which
released
earlier
this
year.
In
November,
Diesel
had
extended
an
olive
branch
to
Johnson
by
writing
an
open
letter
and
asking
the
actor
to
return
to
the
franchise
for
the
upcoming
10th
instalment.
Johnson
called
Diesel's
post
an
"example
of
his
manipulation".
"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.
We
had
spoken
months
ago
about
this
and
came
to
a
clear
understanding," the
"Red
Notice"
star
said.
He
asserted
that
he
ended
his
"Fast
&
Furious"
journey
with
"gratitude
and
grace"
and
sent
his
best
wishes
to
the
rest
of
the
team
for
the
upcoming
movie.
"It's
unfortunate
that
this
public
dialogue
has
muddied
the
waters.
Regardless,
I'm
confident
in
the
'Fast' universe
and
its
ability
to
consistently
deliver
for
the
audience,
and
I
truly
wish
my
former
co-stars
and
crew
members
the
best
of
luck
and
success
in
the
next
chapter,"
Johnson
said.
The
next
movie
in
the
series
will
hit
the
theatres
on
April
7,
2023.
Diesel
will
play
the
lead
role
of
Dominic
Toretto,
while
regular
series
cast
members
Tyrese
Gibson,
Sung
Kang,
Chris
"Ludacris"
Bridges,
Jordana
Brewster
and
Michelle
Rodriguez
are
also
expected
to
return.
Filmmaker
Justin
Lin
will
be
directing
the
film.