It’s not even worth adding a spoiler warning when the news has been plastered all over the internet since last night’s premiere, but it turns out that the rumors were true, and Dwayne Johnson does indeed make a surprise return to the franchise he claimed to have left behind in the post-credits scene of Fast X.
While it makes sense from the outside looking in to have one of the property’s biggest-ever names swing by when The Fast Saga is racing towards the finish line, it marks a huge comedown on a personal and professional level for the actor and producer, who couldn’t have been more clear that he wasn’t interested in reprising the role of Luke Hobbs in a mainline installment ever again.
His exact words were “I told [Vin Diesel] directly that I would not be returning to the franchise,” before he made a point of adding “there was no chance I would return.” Not only that, but called the chrome-domed figurehead out for his “manipulation” of publicly pleading with Johnson to be reabsorbed into the family, with The Rock less than pleased his former arch-enemy used Paul Walker’s name as part of his scheme.
And yet, here we are, so what gives? He might be one of the most popular and highest-paid names in the business, but there’s a growing feeling that Johnson’s star power is beginning to wane. After all, Black Adam was an unmitigated disaster, so much so that everyone forgot about the equally disastrous DC League of Super-Pets as a result.
Signing on for a live-action Moana remake and making blockbusters exclusively for streaming continue Johnson’s desire to play it as safe as possible without even considering taking a risk, so on that front a Fast & Furious return was a no-brainer. His insistence on doing the same thing over and over again is growing stale real quick, but instead of actively doing something about it, he’s opted to dive right back into the world of IP-driven fare to secure a guaranteed box office hit instead.
