When it was announced that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Fast and Furious character would be getting his spinoff, the news was met with anger and frustration by fellow castmate Tyrese Gibson, who felt that Johnson had turned the franchise into a vehicle for himself. Johnson has remained relatively quiet concerning the matter, choosing not to comment on Gibson’s threats to quit the franchise should the spinoff become a reality. However, in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actor confirms his goal has always been to expand the franchise.
Over the past few years, Johnson has been actively creating starring roles he’s passionate about, including not only a Jumanji reboot but also a solo Black Adam film for Warner Bros. and DC. So, the fact that he’s decided to expand the Fast and Furious franchise shouldn’t be too surprising, as the actor had always planned to further expand the franchise when he signed on to play the role of Hobbs. As he explained, in order for the franchise to have “real longevity,” they need to spin out and “create characters that can live on their own.”
“It’s been a challenging process because I feel like my intention from day one when I first joined the cast, was to hopefully come in, have fun, and create a character that people will hopefully like and try to elevate the franchise,” Johnson said. “But in the process of elevating the franchise, I have always thought that in order for this to have real longevity and legs, we should spin out and create characters that can live on their own.”
Johnson will get to do just that with the Fast and Furious spinoff. It has previously been reported that the original franchise was meant to consist of ten films total. However, with Universal now working on spinoff films, it’s entirely possible the franchise will live on once the main story has been told. As of right now, the Johnson-led spinoff is the first confirmed spinoff to be development, although Universal has suggested it may just be the first of many.
The still-untitled Fast and Furious spinoff will star Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham and will be based on a script from franchise writer Chris Morgan, who has been involved with the series since the beginning. As of right now, no director is attached, but the film is slated for a July 26, 2019, release.
