There’s been a drastic and very notable increase in tension among the core members of the Fast & Furious ensemble dating back a while, which comes with the territory when you’re talking about one of the biggest and most popular franchises in the industry, especially when the majority of the biggest names have been involved for at least a decade, if not 20 years.
Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson were famously at odds before resolving their differences, which Diesel may have recently reignited by claiming he orchestrated the whole thing on purpose while simultaneously taking credit for Johnson’s performances as Luke Hobbs. Tyrese also blasted The Rock for choosing Hobbs & Shaw over F9, while Michelle Rodriguez contemplated walking away as Letty if there wasn’t a significantly increased female presence behind the scenes.
To that end, insider Daniel Richtman is now claiming that Jason Statham wants equal pay to co-star Johnson whenever spinoff sequel Hobbs & Shaw 2 enters development. On the surface, the two action icons hold equally important roles and both play title characters so it sounds fair, but looking at the logistics of the production, it’s more than likely not going to happen.
While there’s no reason why Universal wouldn’t hand both men the same upfront salary, which they probably should if we’re being honest, Johnson stands to earn more by virtue of the fact that he’s the co-founder, co-owner and CEO of Seven Bucks, one of three production companies involved in putting Hobbs & Shaw together alongside longtime Fast & Furious writer Chris Morgan’s outfit and Original Film.
Via back-end deals, profit participation clauses and performance bonuses, Johnson will go home with more based on his increased involvement, but a $750 million haul could at least see both bald-headed badasses handed the same Hobbs & Shaw deal as onscreen talents.
