Recent comments from John Cena have me looking back fondly on a period of intense candy assery.
On a recent episode of Armchair Expert, Cena, fresh off his nearly nude Oscars appearance, was asked about the rumored “rough pairing” of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Vin Diesel in the Fast & Furious franchise. As fans know, Cena himself joined the franchise with 2021’s F9.
"There’s certainly rumors about that," Cena said a little over halfway through the new interview. "I can’t deny that. You have two very alpha, driven people. You get two, there can only be one."
Speaking more generally about his experience with the franchise, Cena pointed to his professional wrestling career as having prepared him for such environments with "generational vets" of their respective fields.
"I’ve been in that environment," he said. "Know the room and just kind of adapt to what’s going on. I’m being invited into someone’s home, into someone's family. … This is one IP that has had nine installments and this is an action movie. That’s rarefied air. At the very least, there has to be respect for that."
Fast-thusiasts are well aware of the aforementioned candy assery, which took root in the press back in 2016 with a since-removed Instagram update from Johnson that was speculated to be referencing issues with Diesel. Things grew exponentially from there, ultimately leading to years of speculation and widely headlined remarks, all leading up to Johnson's surprise Fast X cameo last May.
Next up is the main franchise's final installment, with Diesel earlier this year teasing a "grand finale" for the as-yet-untitled film. Johnson, meanwhile, was previously announced for another Hobbs-focused spinoff.
