Vin Diesel is airing some of the famiglia’s dirty laundry on Instagram. Diesel posted an impassioned plea to fellow Hollywood Big Strong Boy Dwayne “The Rock†Johnson, asking the actor to return to the Fast & Furious franchise for its concluding film. “My little brother Dwayne… the time has come,†Diesel wrote. “I told you years ago that I was going to fulfill my promise to Pablo [Paul Walker]. I swore that we would reach and manifest the best Fast in the finale that is 10! I say this out of love… but you must show up, do not leave the franchise idle you have a very important role to play. Hobbs can’t be played by no other.†The alleged feud between Diesel and Johnson has been the subject of much speculation over the years of the Fast saga. Johnson spun off his character in the film Hobbs & Shaw and hasn’t shown up for regular car-stunt duty since.
Diesel said in Men’s Health that the cause of the tension between the two actors was due to the XXX performer’s “tough love†acting-coach style. Diesel said he does whatever it takes to get performances he wants in films he’s producing, although stopping short of being “Felliniesque.†Johnson rejects this understanding of events. “One part of me feels like there’s no way I would dignify any of that bullshit with an answer,†he told Vanity Fair. “I laughed. I laughed hard. We all laughed. And somewhere I’m sure Fellini is laughing too.â€