Vin Diesel says late co-star Paul Walker had sent John Cena to meet him on the set of the upcoming action film F9: ‘I felt like he had sent him into the shrine’
Vin Diesel said that his late castmate, Paul Walker, had sent John Cena to meet him on the set of the upcoming film F9.
The 53-year-old actor recently sat down for an interview with Nate Burleson for Extra to promote the forthcoming action feature and gave a bit of insight into the decision behind the WWE star’s casting.
The Bloodshot actor noted that he and F9’s development team had been discussing who should play the sibling of his brother, Dominic Toretto, for a long time without coming up with a set answer.
Speaking his mind: In a recent interview, Vin Diesel expressed that his late castmate Paul Walker had sent John Cena to meet him on the set of the upcoming film F9
‘We had started talking about the brother role way early on. When it came time to cast, that became a riddle that was so hard to answer,’ he expressed.
Diesel also expressed that, due to his diverse background, the team could pick virtually anyone they wanted for the part, which made the search all the more difficult.
‘Every actor was thought about…because I’m multicultural, every single actor could be my brother,’ he recalled.
However, the XXX actor told Burleson that he eventually came to a conclusion about the casting and remarked that his decision ‘happened in two seconds.’
Difficult period: The performer noted that finding a performer to play his character’s brother became ‘a riddle that was so hard to answer’; he is seen with Walker in 2009
When he knew, he knew: The XXX actor then remarked that, after a long period of deliberation, his final decision ‘happened in two seconds’
Diesel stated that, while getting into Toretto’s mindset, he met the professional wrestler and immediately sensed that his late costar had set up their meeting.
‘I have a dojo, a Dom shrine where I would go get into character, get into a state of mind…[Cena] came in one day to meet me, and I got to tell you…I had felt Pablo, Paul Walker, had sent him into the shrine,’ he said.
The actor added, ‘I didn’t question it at all. I said, “That’s the brother.”‘
The performer went on to speak about how F9’s multiple delays have only increased the public’s excitement for the feature’s release and how he was right there with the audiences.
‘I’ve had to, kind of, contain my excitement for the year in anticipation of this,’ he expressed.
Right then and there: Diesel noted that, while he was getting into character, he encountered Cena and instantly felt as if Walker had intended for the two to meet
Diesel also elaborated on how he noticed that fans of the Fast And Furious franchise were excited to be able to watch the upcoming entry in the series on a big screen and acknowledged the enjoyment of watching a film with other people.
‘You know, we’ve been watching entertainment from the couch for a long time, and we…didn’t anticipate how much we would miss being entertained in a collective,’ he noted.
F9 is currently set to have its world premiere on May 19th, and it will be released to general audiences on June 25th.
Development on two further films in the Fast And Furious franchise has already been confirmed, with Diesel set to return for both.
Group experience: Diesel also spoke about how he noticed that many fans of the Fast And Furious franchise missed ‘being entertained in a collective’
Future releases: While F9 is set to have its world premiere next month, two more films in the action series have been confirmed, with the XXX actor set to appear in both