Vin Diesel could be a politician based on his measured reaction to the thing that happens in Fast X
The possibly penultimate Fast movie has some big surprises for fans, and Vin Diesel seems... okay with it
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[The following contains spoilers for Fast X.]
The Fast And Furious franchise has been Vin Diesel’s baby for a while now, with him being exceedingly protective of the series at least since the death of Paul Walker, but that fact really crystalized last April when longtime series director Justin Lin—generally credited with making these movies “good”—abruptly stepped down in the middle of production. He was soon replaced by Louis Leterrier, with some Fast fans theorizing that the shake-up was due to Diesel’s increasing insistence on throwing his weight around and making demands about what should happen in these last two (or three, as the rumors suggest) entries in the saga.
But if that’s the case, then the Big Spoiler Thing that happens during the credits of Fast X is very surprising (last chance to avoid spoilers). For those who missed the hubbub when some Twitter accounts decided to spoil the Big Thing to boost their numbers, Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs shows up at the end of the movie to tease an appearance in Fast 11 (or Fast 11 Your Seatbelts, as we’ve been calling it), which is a big surprise because we were all under the impression that Diesel and Johnson hated each other and that they clashed during the production of previous Fast movies over their incompatible macho-dude personalities. Despite getting his own spin-off in Hobbs & Shaw (or maybe because of it), Johnson even skipped F9 entirely.
So how did this happen? Are they all friends now? Well, based on what everyone had to say about it at the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project block party on Saturday (via The Hollywood Reporter), the answer to the second question sounds like “no, not really.” Director Leterrier takes credit for brokering the peace talks between Diesel and Johnson, saying he wanted The Rock to cameo in the movie but would only make it happen if Johnson saw Fast X and liked it enough to be a part of it.
We don’t know the specific timeline, but Black Adam came out at some point (not that that’s relevant…) and then Johnson told Leterrier that he “loved” Fast X and then they “started talking.” Diesel, being as gracious as we’ve ever seen from a man that beefy and that bald, added that “the conversations have been going on for a while,” adding that they were just concerned about “what makes the best movie,” “what feels right for a franchise,” and how to “make people happy in this world.” Diesel says that Johnson’s Hobbs and Gal Gadot’s Gisele (who also returns for this movie, despite dying in a previous entry) “clearly make people happy,” so pair that with “this running theme of unity that prevails in the Fast & Furious saga, and it’s a match made in heaven.”
Very magnanimous. You’d never know that this is the same Vin Diesel who once got called a candy-ass by Johnson. Maybe he felt compelled to take pity on The Rock for some reason? (Not that this has anything to do with Black Adam, who said anything about Black Adam?) Or maybe he’s really just putting his money where his mouth is with all of this “family” stuff. Either way, we’re reluctant to officially call this “peace.” We’ll wait until Fast 11 comes out and Diesel and Johnson pose on the red carpet together with one of them putting their arm around the other one and pointing at him with his other hand (the classic “two dudes on the red carpet” pose).
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The additions of Dwayne Johnson and the Agency spy-tech bullshit are the worst things about the franchise now. Johnson’s delivery of “You sumbitch” in the post-credits scene, complete with a pause for the crowd to go wild, is the lamest and most self-serious line reading ever — which shouldn’t be possible when the line is “You sumbitch”!They’ve added Alan Ritchson and Jason Momoa; surely we’ve reached maximum Large Man capacity.
Ritchson made me cackle – my first thought on seeing him was, “That guy looks like his diet is 50% anabolic steroids by weight”.
He is a revelation as “Hank the Bike Cop” in Titans, S3ep2, truly.
If anyone doesn’t know Thad Castle you’re missing out.
Last year the Ringer had a delightful essay on just how big Ritchson is (roughly planet-sized, it turns out):
https://www.theringer.com/tv/2022/2/16/22937239/jack-reacher-huge-size-amazon-prime-series
Enough money offered will probably help, plus both the Rock and Gadot are more free now to do these than they were (with both Black Adam and Wonder Woman getting nixed in the DCEU reboot under Gunn). That said, you’ll actually know if Diesel and Johnson are cordial if they share a scene together in Fast 11 that isn’t obviously green-screening.
Reading this article I was wondering why it mattered if they got along. We’ve had the technology to fake two actors being in the same room for decades. Admittedly with varying degrees of success. If they can CGI dead people they can make a movie without the two leads ever having to see each other. I remember reading that for season two of Boardwalk Empire practically none of Steve Buscemi and Micheal Pitt’s scenes were filmed with them both there at the same time. I sure didn’t notice watching the show. Pitt is (was?) a good actor but apparently a huge ass and I see he’s apparently gone nuts now. Which I did not know until I googled his name to make sure I had it right:In July 2022, Pitt was arrested and charged with assault and petty larceny after allegedly hitting another man multiple times and taking his phone. In September, Pitt was hospitalized and deemed “emotionally disturbed” after being accused of throwing items at people from the rooftop of a building.[21]
Technically you don’t even need CGI to do it – you can just shoot the scene separately so that it seems like they’re talking with each other, but are never actually in the same shot. But it is generally still noticeable when a film is trying to do that.
Vin and Dame Mirren did it in just this movie. Each acting against the others double. Maybe they’ve grown to hate each other too.
Or they couldn’t line up their schedules. That would have been my first guess with the Rock and Vin Diesel as well, if it weren’t for all the rumors and reporting.
Yeah, I can’t really wrap my mind around the timeline there.So if the Rock loved Fast X, does that mean he saw a preview version of it? And if that is so, then did they film the post-credit reveal later? Which in turn raises huge questions about what was the original plan with Dante?And that is not even touching how crazy the retcon that last flashback is.
i fucking LOVED that opening flashback. LOVED! so good.
Which flashback? Hobbs shooting Reyes happened in the fifth movie, it wasn’t a retcon.
Thanks for the correction. Man, for some reason I had completely wiped that from my memory.
saw this at the IMAX on friday night. it ws fucking amazing. everything and more. Jason Momoa as a metrosexual-Joker-esque villian was the highlight. These films are so over the top, cartoonish, and ridiculous BUT sooooo much fun. The audience cheered at the last scene, plus the mid credit scene.I keep thinking they are pushing it with trying to do a 12th film, but they’ve found Justin Lin’s successor with Louis Leterrier, so he gives me hope. Vin has said that Justin Lin had trouble coming back after being in the pandemic. i totally understand that.I don’t think we need The Rock back, as Alan Ritchson was a good replacement. But since Black Adam was a pile of shit, i’m not surprised he wanted to jump back into the Fast saga.Also, why make that horrible “Fast 11 your seatbelts” pun in this article? it only works for Fast 10 (shame there is already a film called, Fasten Your Seatbelts (2014))
Still queer coding our villains in 2023 huh?
The guy who cut his teeth on what I consider to be Shaw’s entire backstory (The Transporter) is a natural fit for Fast and Furious.But seriously, they need to namedrop The Transporter at some point because this universe isn’t big enough with just a Better Luck Tomorrow crossover.
I always assumed that the next film would be called Fast and Furious: This One Goes Up To 11.
I am still not convinced this fight isn’t all a work and is just as real as professional wrestling storylines
In pro wrestling, personal feuds can be put aside if there’s money to be made.
Momoa chewed the scenery in the movie so much that he upstaged everyone, especially Vin Diesel. Critics were not exaggerating about how entertaining he was in the movie. Be interesting how that gets handled in the sequel. I suspect the character will suddenly show up a whole lot less or be toned down.
Say what you will about Diesel, but he never seemed less than genuine about his cheesy “family” talk.
he forced a 5 minute finale where he says goodbye to a digital recreation of his dead friend in a billion dollar action movie. he’s real as hell for that.
Anyone COULD be a politician. It’s those that CHOOSE to be one that we need to keep an eye on. And, as Vidal said, “Anyone who wants to be President should automatically be disqualified from ever doing so.”
Paul Walker was a podophile.
Man it’s almost like actors are professional performers who are able to overcome personal differences to do their damn jobs, and the entertainment press likes to pretend they’re all nutso egomaniacs because that sells magazines at the grocery checkout.
For a movie series that he is so damn protective of, how the hell does Vin Diesel seem to be the only one who was not having fun? He seemed… miserable throughout the entire damn thing. Both Aquamen seemed to be having the time of their lives (yes, Ritchson played Aquaman in Smallville), Brie Larson, loving it. Ludacris, Tyrese, enjoying it. Vin Diesel, miserable son of a bitch.