The Fast & Furious writer-turned-producer Chris Morgan has opened up about the reported ‘feud’ between franchise stars Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson and the impact it has on the films.
Morgan has been a writer for the series since 2006’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, and so would have been a firm behind-the-scenes fixture by the time of Fast and Furious 8 (aka The Fate of the Furious), when the first reports of a feud emerged.
But, when asked by The Hollywood Reporter whether the relationship between the pair affects the making of the franchise at all, Morgan insisted it didn’t, while also playing down the idea that the pair are involved in a ‘feud’ at all.
“I don’t think there’s a feud per se,” he replied.
“I know there’s a lot of reports and stories and stuff like that, but they’re both nice, mature guys, and they’re also businessmen. I don’t think it has a major effect on the Fast franchise. The characters will continue to weave in and out.”
Last year, Dwayne Johnson confirmed that he and Diesel didn’t film “any scenes” together during the making of Fast 8, and the two characters have since been split up in the films too.
Johnson has taken his character Agent Hobbs into spin-off territory, starring alongside Jason Statham in the Fast & Furious: Hobbs and Shaw released on Thursday (August 1), while Diesel began work on Fast & Furious 9 last month alongside franchise newcomers, John Cena and Anna Sawai.
Meanwhile, Morgan has also recently suggested that the Fast and Furious franchise could one day find itself in space, admitting that “nothing’s out of the question” when it comes to these films.
“It just has to be cool and it has to be good,” he explained. “You know, that’s the thing. I would say nothing is off-limits as long as we can stay on the right side of keeping the audience engaged.”
Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw was released yesterday, while Fast & Furious 9 is expected to hit cinemas on May 20, 2020. (DIGITAL SPY)
