How the Fast X director made Dwayne Johnson’s cameo happen

Fast X continued the trend of bringing high-profile celebrities into the mix and having familiar characters make surprising returns. One of those was Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs, who sat out of the core franchise throughout F9 and Fast X and only showed up in the latter’s end-credits scene.

The Wrap spoiled his return even before the movie hit theaters, but his comeback confused many fans, as his feud with Vin Diesel is no secret. Vin Diesel made a public appeal in 2021, asking Johnson to bury the hatchet and return to Fast X. However, The Rock firmly declined the request while talking to CNN, and he even called Diesel’s public appeal an example of his manipulation.

So, how did he change his mind? As it turns out, director Louis Leterrier had a hand in bringing Luke Hobbs back to the core franchise.

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How Dwayne Johnson’s cameo in Fast X became possible

Vin Diesel and Louis Leterrier (Image via Universal)

Fast X director Louis Leterrier recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter and opened up about brokering the peace treaty between Johnson and Diesel. He said:

"The peace treaty … I kind of did. We all did. Ultimately, the movie did. I didn’t know Dwayne, personally, but we reached out to Dwayne and Dwayne’s team. We sort of looked at each other from across the room and winked a few months back, saying, 'We should work together.'"

He further spoke about the idea of adding the Rock into the mix. He continued:

"And then I had this idea and I presented it to the producers and the studio. And then we reached out to Dwayne and his team and said, 'Just come and watch the movie. You have to love the movie first.' So he came to see the movie and really loved it, and then we started talking."

Apparently, Hobbs’ return in Fast X’s post-credits scene was planned after the movie had already been shot.

Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson in Fast and Furious 6 (Image via Universal)

So, the feud between Diesel and Johnson may not be completely over. But with Leterrier overseeing things, they might finally agree to be in the same room during the production of Fast 11. He continued to reveal how things went smoothly when Johnson returned to film his cameo:

"It was very smooth, and frankly, as a fan, I could not conceive continuing the franchise without either Dwayne or Gal Gadot. This franchise was built by actors and characters.”

So, thanks to Leterrier, both Gisele and Hobbs came back to the franchise.

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Why the Fast Saga and Dwayne Johnson needed Hobbs’ return

Luke Hobbs in Fast Five (Image via Universal)

F9’s post-credits scene showcased Deckard Shaw’s return, which left people wanting Luke Hobbs to come back as well. Now that Vin Diesel has confirmed that Fast X will begin a new trilogy, it’s great that Hobbs might be involved with both of the upcoming sequels.

In recent times, The Rock’s movies haven’t been as successful as they used to be. With James Gunn in charge and Black Adam turning out to be a flop, Johnson won’t continue making more DC films. Even Jungle Cruise did not make a lot of money due to COVID. So, The Rock needed to return to his most lucrative franchises – Fast & Furious and Jumanji.

However, it wasn’t just him who needed this, as the Fast Saga also needed Vin Diesel to team up with him. As the box office numbers of F9 have proven, Luke Hobbs left a void that wasn’t being filled with new powerhouses such as John Cena. But now, Hobbs’ return in Fast X’s post-credits scene would generate a lot of hype for Fast 11.