With so many bulging biceps, beefy bros, and massive egos on set at any given time, the Fast & Furious franchise was always destined to suffer from at least a little bit of behind the scenes drama, but recent comments from Jason Momoa could lend weight to the theory that Dwayne Johnson may have been the problem all along.
The Rock’s feud with Vin Diesel gained a new level of infamy when the longtime Dominic Toretto effectively begged his on and offscreen archenemy to return for the upcoming 10th installment, something Johnson didn’t react too kindly after the patriarch of the Fast family brought up Paul Walker’s name in a heavily-criticized attempt to sweeten the deal.
Of course, the former Black Adam wasn’t interested, and we’ve now reached a point where spiteful fans would love to see James Gunn cast his Guardians of the Galaxy collaborator as the DCU’s new version of the Man in Black simply to stick it to the former incumbent of the costume.
However, during an interview with Total Film, Momoa admitted that he was fully expecting drama when he agreed to board Fast X as the villainous Dante, only to be left pleasantly surprised to find nothing but plain sailing despite the highly-publicized disagreements of productions past.
“I was expecting there to be a lot of – I mean, to be completely honest – drama, and you’re like, ‘I want nothing to do with this.’ But I saw nothing of the sort. It was amazing. Everyone was so supportive. I had a ball with Vin. I was just shocked at how cool everyone was. No one was jaded; everyone was just really, really happy to be there.”
After discovering that not only did Johnson turn down a cameo in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, but actively blocked the Justice Society from appearing – as well as Zachary Levi’s confirmation that he was denied a guest spot in Black Adam – the tides of opinion have started to shift against Johnson’s previously-immaculate reputation as a perennial fountain of positivity.
It might be nothing more than speculative spit-balling, but it’s fascinating to think about nonetheless after Momoa’s worries over alpha male posturing and bad blood turned out to be wide of the mark.