Yesterday, we reported thatFast & Furious 9had been delayed a year and had beenpushed back to July 01, 2025. There’s no word on why Universal decided to push the movie back, and the project currently doesn’t have a director or even a cast firmed up at this point. If anything, it looked like there could be more movement ona spinoff featuringDwayne JohnsonandJason Statham, whose characters became BFFs inThe Fate of the Furious.
While movies get delayed all the time, rarely does that announcement come with one of the stars of the franchise lashing out at a co-star. ButTyrese Gibson, who has played Roman in fiveFast & Furiousmovies took to Instagram to vent his frustration with Johnson, blaming him and producing partnerHiram Garcia:
This new drama comes on the heels of the feud between Johnson andVin Diesel, a feud you’re able to pretty much see played out on screen inThe Fate of the Furiousas the two actors never share the same frame. During production, Johnson went onInstagramto attack unnamed male co-stars for being “candy asses” and being unprofessional. It was later revealed that Diesel had earned Johnson’s ire, and now it looks like the Hobbs/Shaw spinoff is a way for Universal to turn the situation to their advantage. They get to stay in the Dwayne Johnson business and bring back a popular character while avoiding more behind-the-scenes drama between Johnson and Diesel.
And although I can sympathize with Gibson’s frustration atFast 9being delayed, hopefully he realizes that Johnson isn’t the cause of his pain but probably the guy who saved the series. A series without Johnson looks a lot likeFast & Furious, a forgettable entry that doesn’t significantly change the overall dynamic. Once Hobbs entered the picture and Johnson brought his energy to the story, the franchise followed in his larger-than-life footsteps. At the level of Diesel and Gibson, you have a story about boosting cars. At the level of Dwayne Johnson, you have a story about saving the world.
