Fast 9 Director Hints How The Rock Could Return for Fast and Furious 10

F9 is finally hitting theatres in the United States this month and will see the return of some franchise favorites like Vin Diesel (Dominic Toretto), Michelle Rodriguez (Letty), Tyrese Gibson (Roman), Ludacris (Tej), Jordana Brewster (Mia), Nathalie Emmanuel (Ramsey), and Sung Kang (Han). Other folks from the Fast Saga will also be popping up in the new movie, but one person you won't be seeing is Dwayne Johnson AKA The Rock as Luke Hobbs. The character was last seen in the spin-off, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, and it's been unclear if there are any plans for him to return for the 10th and 11th installments to the franchise. However, director Justin Lin recently told CinemaBlend that Johnson's return is possible.

"I think that's always been our approach," Lin said of a potential Hobbs return. "So many of the conversations I have is about characters that are not even in there, but are still, obviously, they are living and breathing in this universe. On this one, when I came back, I was thinking a lot about Hobbs and Shaw [Jason Statham], and all of the other characters. I never think of them as being gone, for sure."

Lin previously revealed it was the "Justice For Han" fan campaign that helped inspire his return for the new movie, where Sung Kang's Han returns for the first time since 2013.

"Han means so much to me because he was a character before Fast & Furious," Lin told Total Film in 2020, referring to the character's unofficial origin story in 2002's Better Luck Tomorrow. "Somebody asked me about Han and Shaw [Jason Statham]. I was like: 'Wait, what? Shaw is at the barbecue in 8?' [laughs] Really, I was so confused. One of the big reasons to come back was I felt like we needed to correct something."

You can check out the official description for F9 here: "Vin Diesel's Dom Toretto is leading a quiet life off the grid with Letty and his son, little Brian, but they know that danger always lurks just over their peaceful horizon. This time, that threat will force Dom to confront the sins of his past if he's going to save those he loves most. His crew joins together to stop a world-shattering plot led by the most skilled assassin and high-performance driver they've ever encountered: a man who also happens to be Dom's forsaken brother, Jakob (John Cena, next year's The Suicide Squad)."

F9 hits theaters in the United States on June 25th.