Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Reveals He Will Not Star in ‘Fast & Furious 9’

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has officially revealed that he will not star in 2020s Fast & Furious 9.

According to Screen Rant, Johnson sat down for an interview with MTV News and told them that neither he, nor Jason Statham will appear in the next main Fast franchise film.

“The plan has always been for the Fast and Furious universe to grow and expand. As of now, we’re not in Fast 9 because they’re getting ready to start shooting,” he shared. “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.”

While he is just now confirming it, this is not the first time that Johnson has spoken about his reduced role in the Fast & Furious movies, Telling JoBlo in April 2018 that he likely would not return to the main series in the foreseeable future.

“Vin [Diesel] and I had a few discussions, including an important face-to-face in my trailer. And what I came to realize is that we have a fundamental difference in philosophies on how we approach moviemaking and collaborating,” he explained

“It took me some time, but I’m grateful for that clarity. Whether we work together again or not,” Johnson went on to say, before adding, “But I wish him all the best, and I harbor no ill will there, just because of the clarity we have. [laughs] Actually, you can erase that last part about ‘no ill will.’ We’ll just keep it with the clarity.”

Even though his time in the Fast & Furious films may be behind him, fans still have the Hobbs & Shaw spin-off to look forward to, in which Johnson and Statham reprise their roles from the action film franchise.

They will be joined by actor Idris Elba, who will be playing the film’s antagonist, Brixton. Johnson announced Elba’s role in an Instagram post that also revealed a first look at the “villainous” character.

“I learned a long time ago (when I was a very sinful eyebrow raising villainous man in the crazy world of pro wrestling [winky face emoticon] that heroes are only as great as their greatest villains,” he wrote in the photo’s caption.

“A pleasure to introduce the man himself [Idris Elba] we brought in to our Fast & Furious franchise to wreak havoc, hell and mayhem on our heroes HOBBS & SHAW,” Johnson added.

Hobbs & Shaw is scheduled to be released Aug. 2, 2019.