Dwayne Johnson not returning for Fast & Furious 10 and 11

 

Both Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson were both said to have ended their beef towards one another back in 2019, but that does not mean that the actor who plays agent Luke Hobbs will be returning.

Despite ending their beef ending nearly two years ago, it seems that recent comments from Diesel have opened up some old wounds. Diesel had recently said that he was showing Johnson some "tough love" during their feud and in a recent interview with SlashFilm, Johnson said that he laughed when he heard these comments and confirmed that he will not return for the final two mainline movies in the series.

"I laughed and I laughed hard", Johnson said . "I think everyone had a laugh at that. And I'll leave it at that. And that I have wished them well. I wish them well on Fast 9. I wish them the best of luck on Fast 10 and 11 and the rest of the Fast and Furious movies that will be without me". 

It's sad news for the Fast family and the next two movies are set to be shot back-to-back early next year, hopefully both Dwayne and Vin can crack open a Corona together and make up once more.

Fast & Furious 10: What We Know So Far

 "F9" is now officially released in cinemas, now we can discuss about what's happening with part 10.

Who's directing Fast & Furious 10?

In October, 2020, It was confirmed that Justin Lin would return to direct the final two Fast & Furious movies and both are confirmed to be filmed back-to-back.

When will filming begin?

Vin Diesel has confirmed in an interview that Fast 19 along with Fast 11 will begin filming in January 2022.

Who will star in Fast & Furious 10?

It's safe to assume that we'll see Vin Diesel (Dom), Michelle Rodriguez (Letty), Tyrese Gibson (Roman), Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges (Tej), Jordana Brewster (Mia), Nathalie Emmanuel (Ramsey) and Sung Kang (Han) return for these next two chapers.

Lucas Black had confirmed that he signed on for three Fast movies in 2013, appearing in "Furious 7", and "F9", so we can assume he'll be back for 10 or 11.

Cipher (Charlize Theron) survived for the second time and will likely return against Dom and family.

We haven't seen the last of Jakob Toretto (John Cena) since F9's ending likely setup a sort of "redemption arc" for him.

Vin Diesel has confirmed that Cardi B will return to the tenth installment as of recent.

Justin Lin has stated that both Dwayne Johnson (Hobbs) and Jason Statham (Deckard) will return to the series as they are still part of the family.

Vin Diesel has hinted that Eva Mendes may reprise her role as Monica Fuentes.

We can also expect the return of past cast members like Bow Wow (Twinkie), Tego Calderon (Leo), Don Omar (Santos), Luke Evans (Owen Shaw), Kurt Russell (Mr. Nobody, if he's still alive), Scott Eastwood (Little Nobody), Magdelene Shaw (Helen Mirren), Elle (Anna  Sawai) and hopefully cast members from Hobbs & Shaw like Vanessa Kirby (Hattie), Eiza Gonzalez (Madam M) and Ryan Reynolds (Locke).

Though his actor, Paul Walker had died in late-2013, there is a strong possibility that the character of Brian O'Conner will return as Lin has stated that he is looking to for a respectful way to show Brian's presence.

No new cast members have been announced so far but Tyrese Gibson has expressed desire for both Matt Damon and Denzel Washington to join the franchise while Vin Diesel is said to be looking at Tom Holland in joining the franchise.

What's the plot?

No plot details have been announced but F9's post-credit scene hints about both Han and Deckard Shaw coming face-to-face.

When will Fast & Furious 10 be released?

Lin has stated that he does not intend to film Fast 10 until 2022, so we can guess 2023. 

F9 (Fast & Furious 9) Review (Mild SPOILERS)

Director: Justin Lin

Cast: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, John Cena, Charlize Theron, Sung Kang, Anna Sawai, Kurt Russell, Helen Mirren, Lucas Black, Bow Wow, Thue Ersted Rhusmann

We (the fans) have waited so long for this to come out after facing several delays, but now the wait is over. “F9” is the ninth Fast & Furious movies directed by Justin Lin who directed movies 3-6 and brings back returning franchise players Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Sung Kang, Nathalie Emmanuel, Kurt Russell, Lucas Black, Bow Wow, Helen Mirren and Charlize Theron with names like John Cena, Michael Rooker, Anna Sawai and Cardi B joining the franchise. 

So, the movie opens with a flashback to 1989 where we are introduced to Jack Toretto, the father to Dom and Mia who is killed in a race, an event that was mentioned back in the first film which I thought was a nice way to open the film. Flashforward to the present day, we see Dom (Vin Diesel) now settling down with Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and their son Brian Marcos and the father/son bonding between Dom and Little Brian is very touching and one of the films highlights. However, their peace is short lived when their team – Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris) and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) arrive and inform them that Mr. Nobody’s (Kurt Russell) plane which was carrying a now captive Cipher (Charlize Theron) had was attacked by rogue agents and had crashed in a fictitious Central American county called Montecinto. Dom then looks at the distress signal and sees that his long-lost, never-before seen brother Jakob (John Cena) is involved. The team arrive at the crash site and investigate what had happened and find the first half component of a device called Project Aries (the film’s McGuffin), but they are targeted by a private mercenary gang including Jakob, cue action sequence which is something we have seen in the trailers. Following that, we see the crew travel to Tokyo, Edinburgh, London, Tbilisi and not to mention Space.

The movie is pretty good, but not as good as 5, 6, 7 or 8, but that does not stop the film from succeeding and Lin’s return is a like a return to form for the franchise with the return of old faces like Jordana Brewster (Mia), Sung Kang (Han) and Lucas Black (Sean) to name a few. Compared to other directors like James Wan or F. Gary Gray, Lin is able give each character something to do, for instance, as I mentioned in my review for “Fate of the Furious”, I said that Ramsey didn’t do much only to being side-lined to being just a team member who happens to be a hacker, but in this film Ramsey is given more to do compared to her previous outings, in the scenes in Edinburgh, they give the character the opportunity to drive a vehicle which worked, and she’s given a lot more to do in the climax as well. Aside from the return of “Tokyo Drift” characters like Han and Sean, we also get see the return of Twinkie (Bow Wow) and a side-character from that film Earl, to remind us that these characters should not be forgotten and that “Tokyo Drift” is not the black sheep of the series as some pointed it out to be and these characters are not used for fan service and are given something to do which is way better than the cameo Sean had in “Furious 7”. Thanks to Michelle Rodriguez’s message of her not wanting to continue with the franchise if they don't give other female characters much to do, Jordana Brewster’s Mia is given a lot more to do than she had in the past films and is not there for an “extended cameo” or giving the team support. There is even a great driving scene by Dame Helen Mirren which was something I wanted to see for a while. 

However, the film has it’s problems, I felt that John Cena’s casting Jakob, Dom’s brother was good but it was just an excuse of casting another WWE wrestler in the absence of Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs, and while I like Cena, he is better with comedies than action films (though he was good in “Bumblebee”) and his chemistry with Vin Diesel just feels almost non-existent, but hopefully it will get better in future installments. Also his fight scene with Diesel was weak and not a par with Diesel vs. Johnson in "Fast Five" or Diesel vs Statham in "Furious 7" and only a minute long. Charlize Theron returns as Cipher and she doesn’t do much as she did in “Fate” and it just there to taunt Jakob and the other villains including Eurotrash Otto (Thue Ersted Rhusmann) and some of the action scenes were cliché to put it best, maybe they shouldn't have shown too much in the trailers, and there are too many supporting characters with some being used as fan service unlike the “Tokyo Drift” crew.

Overall, I enjoyed “F9”, but not as much as 5-8, but that doesn’t stop me from getting excited for parts 10 and 11 and the film’s post-credits scene has me excited for more to come.

Rating: 7/10

 

Vin Diesel confirms Cardi B's return in Fast & Furious 10

Rapper Cardi B will return for Fast & Furious 10 said franchise star Vin Diesel, who teased there will be more that will be revealed about her F9 character Leysa. The Fast & Furious franchise has had its share of powerful female characters who have held their own alongside the male-centric core cast. The films have progressed a long way from their initial installments where hijacking trucks and street races were the norms into a hero-based series of films. The supporting cast of women has at times, eclipsed the men in their ability to tackle difficult challenges. 

Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, F9 director Justin Lin and Diesel discussed Cardi B's role in the movie and how she answers questions about Dom's past. Both of them confirmed she'll be returning for the next installment. Check out their comments in the space below:

Lin: "I love Cardi, you know? I mean, it's amazing she showed up and within a minute she's part of the family, right? And I love how when I got together with her, her and Vin were talking about the character because she's actually really embedded into the overall universe, she's been around for a long time and this is just the first time we are seeing her, so I'm really excited to explore that character of her."

Diesel: "We are very much excited to evolve her character and to expand it to the finale. She made it just in time. She came in Fast 9 just in time."

While we don't know much about Fast & Furious 10, we know that Justin Lin will return to direct both 10 and 11, which will be shot back-to-back and we can expect the main players like Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Sung Kang, Nathalie Emmanuel and Lucas Black returning and hopefully the other franchise players like Charlize Theron, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, and John Cena will show up.

My review for F9 will arrive Thursday.

Source: ScreenRant

Actors who almost starred in the Fast & Furious franchise

 The Fast & the Furious is so much more than a movie franchise – it's a global phenomenon spanning nine soon-to be ten movies (counting Hobbs & Shaw) and a global box office gross in excess of more than $5 billion, with every passing sequel proving to be bigger and better (well, somewhat) than the last. From gravity-defying Abu Dhabi skyscraper jumps to high-speed submarine chases over frozen Russian terrain; nothing is off limits in the world of Fast & Furious, a 'Car Wars' saga that feels like it comes from a galaxy far, far away and is all the better for it. And yet few could have predicted that, back in 2001, a movie about the world of underground street racing, fronted by two relative unknowns, would have led to this.

Then again, nothing should surprise us about the Fast & Furious saga anymore. and that includes the incredible array of big names that came within a whisker of featuring in the franchise. Would any of the following taken Dom Toretto’s "family" down a different track? Read on and decide for yourself. 

Paul Walker was not the first choice for Brian O'Conner

Even though Paul Walker is sorely missed his casting in the first movie almost didn't happen. Before Walker signed on for the role of Brian O'Conner, other names considered were Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Eminem. When casting began for The Fast and the Furious, Eminem was coming off of two major studio albums, "The Slim Shady LP" and "The Marshall Mathers LP." Other than music videos and small cameos, the rapper didn't have much acting under his belt. That didn't stop the studio from wanting a big name attached to the project. It's unclear if Eminem was ever offered the role of Brian, but Walker took the role and Eminem's focus was shifted to the autobiographical film, 8 Mile. Eminem probably had no idea that the franchise would last for two decades and it's unclear if he would have wanted to participate that long. With 8 Mile, he found another outlet for his creativity. As for Walhberg, he would have been a good addition to the series.
Timothy Olyphant was the studio's first choice for Dominic Toretto


Originally the actor who the producers and writers had in mind for Dominic Toretto was Timothy Olyphant. However the actor declined the role and instead Vin Diesel won the role and the rest is history.
Mia was originally written for Eliza Dushku 
 

Having made her name as ass-kicking good-girl-gone-bad Faith on Buffy The Vampire Slayer and with an attitude-laden turn in the criminally-underrated teen comedy Bring It On, Eliza Dushku was enjoying something of a moment around the turn of the millennium – and the writers behind The Fast and The Furious looked to capitalize on it. Writing up the part of Mia Toretto, Dom’s feisty younger sister and love interest of Brian O'Conner, according to Entertainment Tonight, they saw only had one actress in mind for the role: Dushku.There was just one problem: Dushku disagreed. The role eventually went to Jordanna Brewster, best known for Robert Rodriguez’s The Faculty at the time, with Dushku returning to the role of Faith in Angel and later starring in the TV series Tru Calling and Dollhouse.

Ja Rule was meant to appear in "2 Fast 2 Furious" instead of Ludacris

Arguably the biggest tale of woe and regret to come out of the franchise concerns forgotten rapper Ja Rule, who must surely look at the Fast & the Furious movies with a sense of regret. Cast in the bit part role of Edwin in the first movie, 2 Fast 2 Furious director John Singleton revealed in an interview with Grantland that Ja Rule had had the opportunity to play the part of Tej Parker in the second movie with a major pay rise  – but said no. After being yanked around too much by the rapper, Singleton turned to Ludacris, who's since gone on to star in three additional franchise outings (for which he's surely pulling in well over a half mil at this point).

Channing Tatum almost appeared in the franchise

Without Lucas Black, the role of Sean Boswell could have been very different.  A few years back, during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Channing Tatum revealed he had been up for the part, only to blow it in the audition. “I don’t even know if it was — I blocked it out, mainly so I don’t remember the specifics. I think it was a combination of me being just bad, not remembering the lines, totally freaking out, I was probably sweating a lot,” he said.  Tatum still ranks it as his worst audition, but that didn't stop him from being a Hollywood A-lister. Then again he wouldn't be a bad addition to the franchise.
The role of Hobbs was originally intended for somebody else




The addition of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, baby oil and all, as Luke Hobbs in Fast Five was the shot in the arm the franchise needed after 2009’s Fast & Furious. Yet in the original plans for the fifth series outing, Vin Diesel and the film’s writers had designs on Tommy Lee Jones for the part. Jones had won an Oscar as US Marshall Samuel Gerard, the man on the tail of Harrison Ford’s Dr. Richard Kimble in The Fugitive, and he seemed a natural fit for what amounted to a similar role.
While Tommy Lee Jones was the ideal choice for the role of Luke Hobbs in Fast Five, the producers were also eyeing up Brolin for the part at the time, and given his performance as a no-nonsense DEA agent in Sicario, you could see why he would have been a good fit in the role. That said, Vin Diesel’s fans thought otherwise, lobbying hard for Dwayne Johnson to get the part, even if it meant rewriting much of what they had planned for the character. Brolin definitely would have been a good match for Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto in any fight, though.
Several actors were considered for Furious 7

 

Before "Furious 7" entered production in 2013, several names including Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone, Twilight actor Taylor Lautner and Academy Award winners Halle Berry and Denzel Washington were all reportedly offered role. Padukone, who later went on to star alongside Vin Diesel and Tony Jaa in 2017's "xXx: Return of Xander Cage" was said to have been offered the role of hacker Ramsey and turned it down. Berry was a suggestion by cast member Tyrese Gibson as a potential love interest for Roman, but she could have been a female version of Kurt Russell's character. And finally Denzel Washington was said to have been offered the role of Mr. Nobody, but turned it down, but still I want Denzel to join the franchise any day now.

Characters who should return for Fast 10 and 11

With Fast & Furious 10 and 11 on the horizon and end the series, we'll expect the likes of Dom (Vin Diesel), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Mia (Jordana Brewster), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), Han (Sung Kang), Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) and Sean (Lucas Black) to return, but there are several characters who I would like to see return to the series.

Leon (played by Johnny Strong)

We haven't seen this guy since the first movie, and aside from Letty, he is last remaining member of Dom's original team as Jesse and Vince were killed off in previous films. Also Johnny Strong hasn't done any film work in a while and is reluctant to return, but lets hope Vin will pull some strings to get him back in.

Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes)

The last time we saw that character was in 2011's "Fast Five" and Eva Mendes seems to have given up taking movie roles, however Vin Diesel  has hinted that the character could return in the future.

Neela (Nathalie Kelley)

"F9" sees the return of "Tokyo Drift" characters Sean Boswell (Lucas Black), Twinkie (Bow Wow) and Earl (Jason Tobin), but absent is Neela, the girlfriend of Sean Boswell. If Sean's role is get expanded beyond "F9" I could not see a reason for them not to bring Neela back.

Leo and Santos (Tego Calderon and Don Omar)

While Santos is confirmed to be in "F9" there seems to be no sign of Leo, but the two are characters are expected to appear in flashbacks with the former played by Ozuna and the latter played by Cered

Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson)

Everyone's favourite law man is skipping out on "F9", but a return is very possible as both Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson seem to have patched things up between them, also Tyrese seemed to have ended his beef with Johnson was well so all is good and hopefully we'll get Johnson vs Cena.

Owen Shaw (Luke Evans)

The last time we saw Owen was when he was helping is older brother Deckard Shaw rescue Dom infant son from Cipher and he did not make an appearance in "Hobbs & Shaw" and likely won't appear in "F9". Owen's story is far from finished as he has to deal with Cipher, who had originally hired him and left him for dead.

Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham)

Another character missing out on the fun in "F9" is Deckard Shaw, but seems like there is a plan in place for the character as he has some unfinished business with the now resurrected Han.

Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood)

Seems like Mr. Nobody's protégé is nowhere to be seem in "F9", but the character's interaction to the family is too good ignore.

Jakob Toretto (John Cena)

 

"F9" sees the introduction of Dom's long-forgotten brother Jakob played by John Cena, so the chances of him returning are very likely.

Gisele Yashar (Gal Gadot)

This is a an undecided one as I would like to see Gisele return and I think she should stay dead. Bit if Owen Shaw can survive the fall, why can't Gisele.

Brian O'Conner

The passing of Paul Walker hit Fast & Furious fans hard, precisely because these movies’ themes of family resonate so strongly. James Wan’s Furious 7 gave Brian and Paul Walker the goodbye he deserves without being distasteful, so it’d be wise to leave Brian behind for good.

But, however macabre it may be, constantly improving VFX technology means no actor stays out of work forever. While it’d take some tasteful-as-hell writing gymnastics for Brian to return, it’s not an impossible task, and both of Walker’s brothers have even revealed that the character may return in the future.

Look out for my review of "F9" on June 25th

Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) Review

Director: David Leitch

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Vanessa Kirby, Idris Elba, Helen Mirren, Eiza Gonzalez, Roman Reigns, Cliff Curtis, Eddie Marsan.

Director David Leitch's "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw" stars Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) as DSS Agent Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham as 'reformed' bad guy Deckard Shaw from the "Fast & Furious" franchise. Hence, the expansive convoluted title. "Hobbs and Shaw" is a lot of fun, and miraculously stupid.

In the film's nearly incomprehensible story: MI-6 Operative Hattie Shaw, played by Vanessa Kirby, retrieves the deadly CT-17 virus on her mission. Powerful cyborg Brixton, played by Idris Elba, thwarts the operation seeking to obtain the virus, too. To keep the virus from Brixton, Hattie injects the CT-17 capsule into herself. Yeah, really.
Brixton, who rides this high-tech motorcycle, is super strong, bullet proof, and skilled in martial arts. Eteon Corporation created Brixton, who shares a past with Shaw. Basically, he's invincible. Yet somehow, Hattie uses her smarts to leverage her escape.
Eteon's cloaked Leader wants to create a new world order, by first erasing the 'weaker' elements of the human race.
Now it's up to Hobbs and Shaw to work together to retrieve the virus, before it goes active, and again save the world. As Hobbs reminds Shaw, "... which for the record, will be my fourth time." Hattie (Vanessa) is Shaw's little sister. Consequently, Hobbs finds the smart, beautiful, strong, kick ass Hattie attractive. According to Shaw, Hobbs ain't getting with his little Sis. No way. The screenwriter's obvious narrative tension is hilarious.

The sheer upside of "Hobbs and Shaw" is its amazing cast. Johnson is great in the role. Dude is ripped, funny, and raises an eye brow better than Mr. Spock. Well, almost. Jason Statham is a BMF. In one scene Jason fights 4 dudes in close quarters. He gets hit from different angles, yet he's just thrashing the hell out of those guys with punches, kicks and joint locks. Vanessa Kirby, who also starred in "Mission: Impossible - Fallout", is the total bad ass as Hattie. She displays solid martial arts skills. Ironically, that propels the narrative when her Hattie battles Hobbs. Hobs distinguishes that she fought to escape, not to kill. Vanessa also has an ironic sense of humor. Idris Elba commands absolute cool as villainous, mostly machine Brixton. As he says, "I'm Black Superman".

You get appearances by both Cliff Curtis and Roman Reigns as Hobbs' brothers, Curtis gets to do a good bit and has a good scene with Johnson's Hobbs, Reigns doesn't have any lines and is just there, but his involvement in the climax wasn't too bad and I wouldn't mind seeing him in future Fast & Furious movies if the writers come up with a smart way to include him. You also get cameos by Ryan Reynolds Rob Delaney as two CIA agents, the former, who Hobbs had worked with in the past and Kevin Hart as an Air Marshall. Reynolds' banter which Johnson was the most fun out of all the cameos, but Hart's was just a last-minute arrangement for him to his comedic talent, don't hate the guy though but he wasn't needed and felt that we could have gotten an appearance from either Kurt Russell's Mr. Nobody or Scott Eastwood's Little Nobody since they had worked with both Hobbs & Shaw in past Fast movies. Also the absence of Luke Evans' Owen Shaw is a strange one, but hopefully the character returns in future instalments.

Director David Leitch's art is electrifying cinematic action. In "Hobbs and Shaw" he gets to work with Jason Statham, who I think is an elite martial artist, and the absolute best in the movie game today. Their collaboration is often breathtaking.

Dwayne and Jason have palpable natural screen chemistry. No small feat given their individual undeniable charisma. Their trash talk is hysterical. Hobbs says of Shaw's voice: It's like dragging his privates "over shattered glass..." Well, Hobbs actually used another word for privates, among other things. Just saying.

The miraculously stupid occurs near the end, with the fight with Samoan tribal weapons, and the tow truck and helicopter. WTF? It's in the movie trailer, too, however, while I enjoy the sequence, it was must an excuse to make the movie over two hours long.

That being all said, "Hobbs and Shaw" is not a perfect movie but it was fun to watch and I hope those two characters get to return to the main Fast & Furious series in the near future.

Rating: 7.5/10