Over the years, the Fast & Furious franchise has become something of a safe haven for current and former professional wrestlers looking to make their mark in Hollywood. Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs came barreling into the fray in the fifth installment and went on to become one of the most pivotal cogs in the machine before his falling out with Vin Diesel.
Future WWE titleholder Ronda Rousey also scrapped with Michelle Rodriguez in the seventh outing, while Johnson roped in cousin Roman Reigns to play a fictional member of his family in Hobbs & Shaw. John Cena is the latest grappler to board The Fast Saga, and in a new interview with Looper, longtime series director Justin Lin was put on the spot when asked to compare working with Cena and The Rock, who faced off at two consecutive WrestleMania events.
“I love them both. Great human beings. I think with Dwayne, I really enjoy it because he played football, and so I love sports and I think the way we approached it was very much like that and that’s something that I enjoy. We spent a lot of time talking about who Jakob was. There was a lot of catch-up because he was going to show up in F9, but he’s lived in this universe the whole time. I can’t wait to continue to work with him, whether it’s in this franchise or other opportunities.”
Comparing and contrasting rival wrestlers is a conversation Dave Bautista definitely doesn’t want to be a part of, so let’s hope that nobody asks James Gunn if he made the right choice in hiring Cena to play Peacemaker after his Guardians of the Galaxy star turned it down.
Unless Johnson reverses his decision to bow out of the main timeline, or Cena crosses over to the Hobbs & Shaw side of the universe, we’ll never get the chance to see the big beefy bastards cross paths in a Fast & Furious blockbuster, which is a real shame.
Published: Sep 23, 2021 10:00 am