Vin Diesel to The Rock: ‘You must show up’ for Fast 10

Fast & Furious’ Dominic Toretto has always been a man to put family first. The auto mechanic and patriarch played by Vin Diesel in the adrenaline-filled action series was always a man who stressed the importance of family above all else.

Now the real-life actor has taken that commitment to family one giant uncomfortable step further by publicly asking another star of the series, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, to return in Fast 10, despite a long-running public feud between the two. The callout came in the form of an Instagram post where Diesel wrote to Johnson, “I hope that you rise to the occasion and fulfill your destiny.”

The dramatic post comes after a long-running history of bad blood between the two actors. Johnson made his Fast & Furious debut in 2011 in Fast Five as the bounty hunter Luke Hobbs and went on to star in three more sequels and a spinoff. The two stars seemed to get along, but in 2016 Johnson published a since-deleted Instagram post where he referred to unnamed members of the cast as “candy asses.” Since then, the two have partaken in back-and-forth mudslinging that has lasted for years. Johnson also didn’t not appear in 2021’s F9: The Fast Saga.

In a seeming bid to make amends, Diesel took to his Instagram and pleaded to Johnson for his return. “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,” Diesel said. In the post, Diesel shared an image of the two together in a Fast & Furious movie. You can view the entire caption below.

Diesel’s emotional post calls Johnson his “little brother” and mentions a promise to “Pablo,” which refers to the late Paul Walker who played Brian O’Conner in the series and died in 2013. However, whether or not this appeal will work, or whether Johnson will even respond at all, remains to be seen.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the name of Walker’s character in the Fast & Furious films. We’ve edited the article to reflect the character’s correct name.