F9 Makes A Strong Argument Vin Diesel Is More Important Than The Rock

Fast & Furious 9 Updates: The ninth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise did not see The Rock for the first time since his debut in the franchise with Fast 5. Without The Rock, the movie makes an argument that Vin Diesel is actually the driving force behind the franchise.

F9 which came out earlier this year makes an argument that Vin Diesel is more important to the franchise than Dwayne Johnson. Johnson debuted in the Fast and the Furious franchise with Fast 5, where he played the role of FBI agent Luke Hobbs who was tasked with finding Diesel’s Dominic Toretto, Brian O’Connor (the late Paul Walker), and Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster).

F9 is the first time Johnson has not been a part of a Fast and Furious movie, since his introduction in Fast 5. The story of F9 setup Vin Diesel as the true core of the franchise instead.

The series set up Dom and Hobb as enemies but they eventually turned into allies, quite like Dom’s relationship with Brian. Johnson added more star power to the franchise, which earned him his own spinoff film in 2019 called Hobbs and Shaw, where Hobbs is seen teaming up with Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) to stop a programmable virus from wiping out half the population. However, in his absence from F9, Diesel is elevated as the center of the franchise and the key component that glues it all together.

The majority of F9’s plot revolved around Dominic and his brother Jacob Toretto (John Cena), who was initially plotting against his brother but later became an ally. Hobbs is not mentioned in the movie at all and it makes it clear who the favored character is in the franchise.

Fast & Furious 9 Revealed Why is Vin Diesel Important

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Vin Diesel has always been the center of the Fast and the Furious franchise. He has been a part of the franchise since the beginning. The films have always revolved around the relationship between Dom and Brian. Walker’s death shifted the film’s dynamics but it still centered on Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto.

F9 introduced Dom’s brother Jacob which suggests that the next two films will see the dynamic between the two, making Diesel stay on as the center of the franchise. Diesel has a huge hand in the success of the franchise and his character Dom is the one holding his crew together. It is difficult to imagine the franchise without him.

Fast & Furious 9: How the Rock Changed the Franchise

However, The Rock changed the franchise in many ways. He was first introduced in Fast 5 which became the first film in the franchise to crossover several characters from other films including, The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift. The film expanded the franchise to a global level and its worldwide success surpassed its prequels like 2 Fast 2 Furious. The Rock himself brought an added star power to the franchise and also gave Dom a new and charismatic opponent to clash against on-screen. In a way, The Rock saved the franchise early on and turned it towards global recognition.

Despite Johnson being the core of the franchise, he does not appear in F9. There are moments in the movie that indicate that Diesel’s Dom is the rock holding the franchise together. F9 indicates that The Fast and the Furious saga starts and ends with Dom.

He is the leader of the crew who pushes the other characters and the storylines. All the other characters in the story seem to be limited who cannot move along with Dom pushing them to find answers. This shows how important of a character Dom is to the franchise.

F9 proved that the franchise could do without Johnson but the same cannot be said about Diesel. The fans of the franchise are more invested in Dom’s story as he has been a part of the story since the beginning and also his crew of good guy outlaws. Johnson may have brought about some important changes in the franchise but Diesel will remain the one half of the duo who started it all. F9 is just a reminder of that.

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