Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson made his Fast & Furious debut in the fifth installment, but there's some confusion over Johnson's Fast & Furious timeline, with many believing he made his first appearance before this. Johnson's character, Luke Hobbs, first arrives in the 2011 film Fast Five. Johnson then went on to appear in Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7, and The Fate of The Furious in the franchise's mainline as well as headlining the spinoff Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw with Jason Statham.
Earlier this year, Johnson appeared in the mid-credits scene for Fast X. He will also be returning for another Hobbs spinoff, rumored to be titled Fast & Furious Presents:Hobbs & Reyes, starring opposite Fast & Furious newcomer Jason Momoa. These developments are a surprising turn of events given Johnson vowed never to return to Fast & Furious due to his public feud with Vin Diesel. However, it appears Johnson's start in the series is just as confusing as his current status, with much confusion over when Johnson made his first appearance in the Fast & Furious films.
RELATED: Fast X Post-Credits Scenes Explained: How Many & What THAT Character's Return Means
The Rock's 2010 Thriller Faster Is Not A Fast & Furious Movie
The confusion over Dwayne Johnson's appearance in the Fast & Furious franchise stems from another of the actor's movies, Faster. Released in 2010, Faster is an action flick akin to those in the Fast & Furious series. In it, Johnson plays Jimmy Cullen, aka Driver, a man seeking vengeance for the death of his brother caused by a corrupt detective, played by Billy Bob Thornton. Despite the name, Johnson is the film's only connection to the long-running Fast & Furious franchise. It's not hard to see, however, why Johnson's appearance in Faster could lead to confusion.
Firstly, the Fast & Furious franchise is infamous for its unusual naming conventions. With titles in the franchise including Fast Five and Furious 7, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Faster could be a title too. The similarities don't end there either as Faster is an action thriller with similar themes to the long-running franchise. Most notably, Faster shares the Fast & Furious' focus on family, with the death of his brother being the driving force for Johnson's character. Add the fact that Faster was released just 5 months before Johnson's Fast & Furious debut, and it's no wonder casual fans might mistake it for an installment in the franchise.
Faster Proves Why The Rock's Career Needed Fast & Furious
However, unlike Fast Five, Faster was not a runaway box office success for Johnson. With a budget of $24 million, Faster only pulled in $23 million at the domestic box office (per Box Office Mojo). It also wasn't lauded by critics, earning a less-than-ideal Rotten Tomatoes score. It followed a string of films that earned mixed-to-negative reviews for Johnson throughout the 2000s, including The Scorpion King and Doom, and highlighted the need for something big to improve his career trajectory.
Johnson was roughly 10 years into his film career at the time Fast Five was released. While it's disputed whether Johnson really saved Fast & Furious, his addition did prove to be the revitalizing shot the franchise needed. After all, Fast Five managed to nearly double the box office gross of the previous Fast & Furious film. However, given the lackluster response to Faster and Johnson's most successful film before Fast Five being The Mummy Returns a decade earlier, the benefit was certainly mutual. The role of Luke Hobbs gave Johnson the big-name franchise break that his career sorely needed.
