Alleged "candy ass" Vin Diesel dropped some timely Fast and Furious trivia during a recent Facebook update. As fate would have it, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's role in the Fast and Furious franchise was actually meant for someone else—the guy who would have been Agent Luke Hobbs, as Colliderreported Tuesday, is none other than former MIB agent Tommy Lee Jones.
"The reason why we brought Dwayne Johnson into Fast Five was because of you," Diesel said, without even once mentioning any alleged candy assery. "There was a girl named Jen Kelly who said, 'I would love to see you guys work together onscreen.' And so, we gave a role that was initially written for Tommy Lee Jones but we gave it to Dwayne, and he shined in it."
Hold up. He "shined" in the role, Vin Diesel? Totally agreed but, um, that doesn't sound like something someone involved in the Great Candy Ass Debate of 2016 would say.
Given the fact that Hobbs was originally meant for Tommy Lee Jones, one can imagine some serious rewriting took place once Johnson signed on for the franchise. As all this candy assery has astutely informed us, Hobbs and Dom Toretto will next be seen in Fast 8. The sequel to the massively successful Furious 7 is directed by F. Gary Gray, the same guy who brought us Friday and Straight Outta Compton.
Speaking with Collider at the top of the year, Gray cited J.J. Abrams as an inspiration on his Fast 8 process. "We talked about all of the Fast movies up to this point, and where could we go," Gray said. "I think [Diesel] was really happy with the vision I have for the franchise and I was really happy about where he sees not only his character going but the franchise itself because he's a producer as well."
Fast 8 hits theaters April 14, 2017, meaning you have less than a year to keep using the revived "candy ass" insult.
