After confirming that his new buddy cop offshoot with Jason Statham will be getting a franchise to itself, The Rock has basically ruled himself out the running for a casting call in Fast & Furious 9 - the reason being: the next F&F film is about to enter production, while The Rock and Statham will be hot on the promotional trail for their new Hobbs & Shaw venture.
"The plan has always been for the Fast and Furious universe to grow and expand," he explained. "As of now, we’re not in Fast 9 because they’re getting ready to start shooting. But who knows with Fast 10 and down the road, you never know. Because look, at the end of the day, the truth is, there’s unfinished business between Hobbs and Dom. It’s unfinished."
But fans of The Rock's "Luke Hobbs" character can rest assured knowing both he and Jason Statham have every intention of re-joining the general cast for Fast & Furious 10 somewhere down the line. The Rocks' momentary exclusion from the 9th installation allows him and Vin Diesel additional time to comb over their differences. As you might recall, Vin and Dwayne butted heads during the production run for F&F 8. Dwayne Johnson may very well see his role reduced in the original franchise if Vin Diesel has his way with producers.