Vin Diesel Believes Paul Walker "Sent" John Cena To Him For "Fast And Furious 9" Role

By Jason Ounpraseuth

The trailer for F9: The Fast Saga dropped today with much fanfare with the return on Han (Sung Kang) and the introduction of a new villain in Jakob, Dominic Toretto's brother played by WWE legend John Cena. Fans are raving for the return of the Fast and Furious franchise for the first time since Hobbs & Shaw in 2019 and The Fate of the Furious in 2017.

The movie's star and producer Vin Diesel spoke with Nate Burelson of Extra TV. He discussed why he felt Cena was the correct choice to play Dom's brother.

"We had starting talking about the brother role way early on," Diesel revealed. "When it came time to cast, that became a riddle that was so hard to answer. Every actor was on the table. Every actor was thought about. Because I'm multi-cultural, every single actor could be my brother. Everybody. You (Burleson) are my brother. To carefully address the overall mythology because they'll be answers in Fast 10 that will explain or even mystify you more. It happened in two seconds."

Diesel believes that divine intervention played a part in casting Cena.

"The idea of John Cena came up," Diesel said. "I had a dojo, a shrine, a 'Dom Shrine' where I would go and get into character, get into that Dom state of mind, and it had all the Fast memorabilia. It had weights. It was a training center for combat to get ready for the movie.

"He (Cena) came in one day to meet me, and I got to tell you, and it sounded crazy at the time. And it probably still sounds crazy. I had felt, because I like to be in tune that Paul Walker had sent him into the shrine, and I didn't question it at all. I said that's the brother."

F9 will release in South Korea on May 19, and it will release in the U.S. on June 25.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Extra TV with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription. You can view Diesel's interview with Extra TV below:

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