Fast & Furious: Vin Diesel asks The Rock to return

Vin Diesel has asked Dwayne Johnson to rejoin Fast & Furious for the tenth and final instalment of the franchise.

It comes after a very public feud between the two Hollywood heavyweights.

In an Instagram post, Vin said The Rock has "a very important role to play", adding that his character Hobbs could not be played by anyone else.

"I hope you rise to the occasion and fulfil your destiny," Vin, who plays the lead role of Dominic Torreto, wrote.

The Rock (aka Dwayne Johnson) joined the Fast & Furious franchise as Agent Hobbs in Fast Five in 2011 - but the 49-year-old didn't appear in the most recent film and has previously said he wouldn't appear in future films.

Vin Diesel wrote to his 76 million followers that he wanted to fulfil his promise of a perfect ending to "Pablo" - referring to his late co-star Paul Walker, who died in 2013.

"I swore that we would reach and manifest the best Fast in the finale that is 10! I say this out of love... but you must show up," the 54-year-old said.

Calling him "little brother Dwayne", he asked him not to leave "the franchise idle".

What's happened between them?

You might be wondering what went wrong between two people who have been part of one of the most successful franchises ever and even referred to one another as "family".

It's been described by their co-star Ludacris as "a delicate situation".

The pair have clashed with each other - with The Rock confirming they didn't shoot any scenes together for The Fate of the Furious.

One scene in the 2017 film starred both actors - but this was only due to clever editing.

The final week of filming for that film saw The Rock post a message on Instagram denouncing a co-star (who he didn't name at the time) for failing to "conduct themselves as stand-up men and true professionals".

It became apparent he was referring to Vin Diesel.

Vin Diesel has said he wants the perfect finale in honour of Paul Walker (above), who died in a car crash in 2013

In an interview with Vanity Fair last month, The Rock said nearly "every single crew member found their way to me and either quietly thanked me or sent me a note."

And he said he regretted posting publicly - but meant everything he said.

It was reported a peace meeting took place afterwards, which The Rock says wasn't actually "a peaceful meeting".

"I would call it a meeting of clarity. He and I had a good chat in my trailer, and it was out of that chat that it really became just crystal clear that we are two separate ends of the spectrum."

• Fast & Furious films to reach the end of the road

• Fate of the Furious breaks global record

• The Rock speaks about Vin Diesel row

WWE legend Dwayne Johnson said he and Vin Diesel are "philosophically two different people, and we approach the business of moviemaking in two very different ways."

Over time, Vin has had his own say on the situation.

He's said their differences were down to them being two alpha males, adding he's "protected Dwayne more than he'll ever know, but he appreciates it".

The Rock spoke warmly of Vin Diesel after the success of spinoff film Hobbs & Shaw, also starring Jason Statham

It looked for a while that the feud cooled in September 2019 - after the success of spinoff Hobbs & Shaw, with The Rock thanking Vin Diesel for his support of the film in an Instagram video.

But it was reignited in June 2021, when in an interview with Men's Health, Vin Diesel said any conflict between the pair was due to his approach of getting the most out of The Rock's acting.

"My approach at the time was a lot of tough love to assist in getting that performance where it needed to be," he said.

"That's something that I'm proud of, that aesthetic. That took a lot of work. We had to get there and sometimes, at that time, I could give a lot of tough love."

• Fast & Furious 9: 'We're not just doing the same thing'

• Hollywood star Paul Walker mourned

Responding in his recent Vanity Fair interview, The Rock said he "laughed hard" when he read that.

"I go into every project giving it my all. And if I feel that there's some things that need to be squared away and handled and taken care of, then I do it.

"And it's just that simple. So when I read that, just like everybody else, I laughed."

Fast & Furious 10 is scheduled to be released in April 2023 - and The Rock hasn't yet publicly responded to Vin Diesel's request.

Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.