Dwayne Johnson Refuses Vin Diesel's Invitation to Rejoin 'Fast & Furious' Franchise

LOS ANGELES – Dwayne Johnson has publicly declined an invitation by Vin Diesel to rejoin the “Fast & Furious” franchise for its upcoming 10th entry.

Last November, Diesel invited to Johnson on Instagram to return to series and reprise his role as secret agent Lucas Hobbs for the next installment of the series.

“The world awaits the finale of ‘Fast 10,’” Diesel wrote on Instagram. “As you know, my children refer to you as Uncle Dwayne in my house. There is not a holiday that goes by that they and you don’t send well wishes… but the time has come. Legacy awaits. I told you years ago that I was going to fulfill my promise to Pablo. I swore that we would reach and manifest the best Fast in the finale that is 10!”

But in a new interview with CNN, Johnson criticized Diesel for putting the invitation on social media after the two had already reached an agreement in private.

“I told [Diesel] directly that I would not be returning to the franchise. I was firm yet cordial with my words and said that I would always be supportive of the cast and always root for the franchise to be successful, but that there was no chance I would return,” Johnson said. “Vin’s recent public post was an example of his manipulation. I didn’t like that he brought up his children in the post, as well as Paul Walker’s death. Leave them out of it. We had spoken months ago about this and came to a clear understanding.”

Johnson joined the “Fast & Furious” franchise in 2011 with “Fast Five.” At first, his Agent Hobbs character was an antagonist to Diesel’s Dominic Toretto, but later joined the group of heroes. Johnson left the series after 2017’s “The Fate of the Furious.”