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Why Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham can't be seen 'losing fights' in 'Fast & Furious' films

The 'equal pain' clause in the three stars' contracts ensure that none of the major stars in the franchise can appear to have lost a fight

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Dwayne Johnson has announced his return to the 'Fast & Furious' franchise. In a tweet on Thursday, June 1, he revealed that he will be reprising his role as Luke Hobbs in an upcoming film, following his cameo appearance in 'Fast X' which is currently in theaters. The untitled film will continue the storyline from 'Fast X' and focus on Hobbs, leading into the events of 'Fast X: Part II'.

Interestingly, some of the prominent stars of the 'Fast & Furious' franchise have specific clauses in their contracts that ensure their characters cannot be defeated in fights throughout the films. This stipulation highlights the importance and significance of these actors within the franchise, ensuring that their characters maintain a dominant and undefeated image. 

What is the 'equal pain' clause?

In multiple 'Fast and Furious' movies, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, and Jason Statham had a contractual provision known as the "equal pain" clause. This clause stipulated that all three actors had to experience a similar level of physical harm in their respective roles. The genesis of this clause can be linked to a dispute during the production of the seventh film, where Diesel expressed concerns that his character, Dominic Toretto, was receiving an excessive number of punches from Statham's character, Deckard Shaw. The Wall Street Journal reported on this issue, highlighting Diesel's worry about the disparity in the physicality of their characters.

According to reports, Diesel proposed a system where each punch thrown by a character would be counted to ensure a balanced number of hits during action scenes. However, this idea was deemed too complex to implement effectively. Instead, it evolved into an "equal pain" clause, ensuring that none of the major stars in the franchise would appear to have lost a fight. This clause aimed to maintain parity among the characters, preventing any individual from appearing significantly disadvantaged in combat situations. To maintain the balance among the characters, if one character receives a significant blow in a fight scene, the others are also required to endure similar hits. This approach explains why, in confrontations between these characters, there is often an interruption or interference before a clear winner is determined. 

'They want more muscles'

The WSJ report said that "according to producers and crew members on the films, Mr. Statham negotiated an agreement with the studio that limits how badly he can be beaten up on screen. Mr. Diesel has his younger sister, a producer on the films, police the number of punches he takes. And Mr. Johnson enlists producers, editors and fight coordinators to help make sure he always gives as good as he gets." "It's like that old trope where an actor comes in and wants more closeups," a source told the WSJ. "They want more muscles."

An incident during the filming of 'Furious 7' highlighted this clause. Originally, Johnson's character was supposed to be lying on the ground while Diesel's character stood over him. However, the scene was altered so that Johnson's character was sitting instead. 

'Fast X' generates $500M revenue worldwide

'Fast X' brought in $113.6 million domestically, and has collected over $399 million overseas, meaning that the movie has cleared the half-billion dollar milestone. That makes 'Fast X' the third-highest grossing movie of 2023 so far.