Stop us if you’ve heard this one – a former wrestling champion who has decided to make movies, and is taking on a role in the Fast & Furious franchise.
No, it’s not The Rock. And you probably won’t see him coming.
With Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jason Statham moving into their own lane in the Fast & Furious franchise, it felt like the series is in need of some much-needed star power. According to Vin Diesel, said star power will be coming in the form of former WWE Champion, John Cena.
Diesel, a longtime series actor in the franchise, not-so-subtly revealed on his Instagram that the newest addition to the upcoming Fast & Furious movie will be none other than John Cena.
He also captioned the post with “Thank you, Pablo”, a nod to the late Paul Walker. For those who are unaware, Pablo is the nickname Diesel gave his former Fast & Furious co-star.
For those who are unable to play the video, here’s what Diesel says,
“Guys, as you know I’m always thinking fast and thinking about the responsibility of making something iconic. I know this sounds crazy, but every blue moon I feel like Pablo up there sends me someone, another soldier for the fight for truth… and today someone came by the Toretto Gym that speaks to what Pablo would’ve brought me.”
Diesel then pans the camera to his side, revealing John Cena standing beside him. After a short “You can’t see me” motion and a wink by Cena, Diesel concludes the video by saying, “All love. Always.”
This announcement will surely enthuse most wrestling fans, and is also bound to reinvigorate the series, even with John and Statham moving on to their own spin-off series. After all, if one WWE star worked wonders on the series, what is to say about another one?
Fast & Furious 9 will begin production in the summer, with the return on Fast & Furious 3 to 6 director Justin Lin. Lin’s return, and the addition of Cena, has given many fans of the franchise hope that the ninth film will be decidedly better than The Fate of the Furious.
Fast & Furious 9 will hit theatres on May 22, 2020. Meanwhile, Johnson and Statham’s spin-off series Hobbs and Shaw will release in theatres much earlier, on August 2, 2019.
Germaine is a fun-sized introvert who loves nothing better than sleeping in on rainy days. She can be found reading fanfiction and manga while still waiting for her Hogwarts acceptance letter. It’ll come eventually.
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