Breaking Down Vin Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson's Years Long Feud

“Family” has always been the buzzword of the Fast & Furious franchise, but like any family, relationships haven’t always been smooth. In particular, rumors of a long-simmering tension between franchise stars Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson–who hasn’t appeared in a main F&F film since 2017’s The Fate of the Furious –have persisted for years.

But in an emotional November 7 Instagram post, Diesel extended an olive branch to Dwyane Johnson and said that his presence is needed for the 10th installment of the uber popular action movie series.

“My little brother Dwayne... the time has come. The world awaits the finale of Fast 10. As you know, my children refer to you as Uncle Dwayne in my house,” Diesel wrote. “There is not a holiday that goes by that they and you don’t send well wishes... but the time has come. Legacy awaits.”

There’s history behind the terms of endearment “little brother” and “Uncle Dwayne.” Here’s what you need to know about the feud between two of Hollywood’s most brolic individuals.

The beef became public to most people when The Rock posted an Instagram message around the end of shooting Fate of the Furious in August 2016. In it, he criticized unnamed male actors he worked with, using one of the great Rockisms (“Candy ass”).

“There’s no other franchise that gets my blood boiling more than this one. My female costars are always amazing and I love ’em. My male costars, however, are a different story,” he wrote. “Some conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don’t. The ones that don’t are too chicken [shit] to do anything about it anyway. Candy asses.”

Two days later, Johnson posted another lengthy Instagram caption that framed the tension as something more healthy.

“Family is gonna have differences of opinion and fundamental core beliefs. To me, conflict can be a good thing, when [it’s] followed by great resolution. I was raised on healthy conflict and welcome it,” he wrote. “And like any family, we get better from it. At the end of the day me and F8 co-stars all agree on the most important thing: Delivering an incredible movie to the world.”

Nearly a year later, in April 2017, Diesel spoke to USA Today about their relationship, downplaying any lingering tension but also establishing a power dynamic featuring himself as the Fast patriarch.

“I think some things may be blown out of proportion. I don't think that was his intention. I know he appreciates how much I work this franchise. In my house, he’s Uncle Dwayne,” Diesel said (note the recurring motif of “Uncle Dwayne”). He then offered a slightly cryptic explanation of his role in Johnson’s life, which felt very Dom Torreto.

“I protect the franchise. I protect everybody including Dwayne. I protected Dwayne more than he’ll ever know. And it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t have to know. But he appreciates it. He knows it," Diesel said. “Dwayne has only got one Vin in his life. Dwayne Johnson only has one big brother in this film world and that’s me."

(Johnson later responded: “I have one big brother and it’s my half brother. And that’s it.”)

Diesel described the high-powered star duo as “two alphas,” and that’s probably a lot of what this boils down to. Diesel had been the anchor of the F&F franchise since it began in 2001, a duty he shared with Paul Walker until his death in 2013. But adding a star of Johnson’s magnitude–he’s been the highest paid actor in the industry the last two years–has the potential to cause a certain amount of friction.

After the massive success of Hobbs & Shaw, the franchise’s first-ever spinoff film, Johnson posted a sweat-soaked video on Instagram where he thanked Diesel by name for supporting the film. It seemed like a period of Dwayne-Diesel détente was upon us.

But a 2018 Rolling Stone Johnson cover story unearthed the detail that the two didn’t shoot any of their scenes in Fate together. Johnson further explained that they have “a fundamental difference in philosophies on how we approach moviemaking and collaborating,” and that, at the time, he was unsure whether he would rejoin the franchise. He said the pair had an important conversation in his trailer.

He also said he held “no ill will” for Diesel, but then walked that statement back with what the writer described as a “big, sly laugh.”

Diesel spoke at length about the pair in a June cover story for Men’s Health, in a way that seemed pretty dismissive of Johnson’s acting bona fides, explaining that he needed to give Johnson “a lot of tough love” to get the performance to the right place.

“As a producer to say, Okay, we’re going to take Dwayne Johnson, who’s associated with wrestling, and we’re going to force this cinematic world, audience members, to regard his character as someone that they don’t know—Hobbs hits you like a ton of bricks,” Diesel said.

Beyond the Rock stuff, Diesel also gave a memorable quote about his mentality as a producer (he’s held that role in every F&F film since 2009’s Fast & Furious).

“Not Felliniesque, but I would do anything I’d have to do in order to get performances in anything I’m producing,” he added.

Perhaps the most comprehensive insight into the Johnson-Diesel drama came in an October 12 Vanity Fair interview with the Jumanji star. According to the piece, Johnson agreed to do the eighth film with the stipulation that he and Diesel have no scenes together (“I thought that was the best thing to do. For everybody,” he said).

Johnson stood by his sentiment and implied that a large number of crew members privately said they agreed with him, though he did acknowledge that sharing his thoughts via social media “was not the right thing to do.”

He elaborated on the discussion the pair had in his Fast 8 trailer. “I wouldn’t call it a peaceful meeting. I would call it a meeting of clarity,” he said. Johnson also elaborated on the philosophical differences he has with Diesel in a way that felt undeniably shady.

“It’s the philosophy of going into work every day. Looking at everybody as equal partners. And looking at the studio as equal partners. And looking at the crew, regardless of where you’re at, either on the call sheet or otherwise, as equal partners—with respect and with humility, and being respectful of the process and every other human being who is putting in just as much time, just as much hard work and sweat equity, if not more,” he explained.

There are two more installments of the franchise, which will be shot back to back and are tentatively due out in February 2023 and February 2024, per Diesel. That means a lot of long hours on set, ages for the Johnson-Diesel beef to slow cook, and plenty of time for fans of the franchise to worry about whether two of its key figures will appear together.