Vin Diesel reveals he had a 'strange feeling' Paul Walker sent John Cena to him for 'F9'

Vin Diesel, who played the role of Dominic Toretto in the Fast and Furious franchise for 20 years, recently shared his thoughts on the feeling he encountered that led John Cena to become a cast member as Dominic’s brother, Jakob Torreto in Fast and Furious 9. He revealed that when it was time to cast someone as his brother for the film, the search gave him a bit of “anxiety” and he had a strange feeling to have John by his side. 

Vin Diesel had a strange feeling to have John Cena by his side in F9 

During a recent appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Kelly asked Vin that how John ended up being a part of Fast and Furious 9. Replying to her question, Vin said, “Obviously I'm multicultural. You could've cast anybody to be my brother.” He added that for two months before he went into filming, he created a shrine where he could do all the combat training, all the stunts and he had the charger there to simulate the garage and get into his character’s state of mind. He went on to say that the idea of the brother worked great on paper, but when the time came to cast, he felt anxious. He wondered who they could cast to be Dom’s brother and 20 years into the game as the audience knows the movie’s mythology so much.

Vin Diesel thought of all this until John Cena nabbed the role of Jakob, a casting that Vin believes the late actor Paul Walker, who starred alongside him in the Fast and Furious films before his death had a hand in making happen. Speaking further, he said that John Cena came into the shrine one morning and he had this strange feeling that Paul Walker had sent him. Vin added, “and if you look back on my Instagram, you'll see the post, cause I thanked Pablo because I had this strange feeling that Paul Walker had sent him.” The actor concluded by saying that the moment and the feeling were “very magical.”

More about Fast and Furious 9 

Apart from Vin and John, the F9 cast includes Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, Michael Rooker, Helen Mirren, Kurt Russell, and Charlize Theron. The film was internationally released on May 19, 2021, and is scheduled to release in the US on June 25, 2021. Check out the Fast and Furious 9 trailer below.

(IMAGE: VIN DIESEL'S INSTAGRAM)