Vin Diesel sides with ‘The Rock’ in feud with ‘Fast and Furious’ co-star Tyrese Gibson

FILE – This file photo provided by Universal Pictures shows, Vin Diesel, left, as Dom Toretto, and Jason Statham, as Deckard Shaw, in a scene from “Furious 7.” The high-octane thriller “Furious 7” maintained its pace in its second week, speeding away with $60.6 million at North American theaters, bringing its box-office total to a robust $252.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, April 12, 2015. (AP Photo/Universal Pictures, Scott Garfield, File)

“Fast and Furious” co-stars Vin Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson haven’t always seen each other eye to eye, as evidenced by their highly publicized squabble last year.

READ: ‘Feuding’ Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel bury hatchet

But after Johnson figured in yet another feud, this time with Tyrese Gibson, the 50-year-old actor made it clear that he has the former WWE star’s back.

READ: Tyrese calls Dwayne Johnson ‘a clown’ for ‘Fast’ spinoff

“I know there has been a lot of speculation as to why the Fast 9 release date was pushed…but it would be unfair to say it is anyone’s fault,” Diesel captioned a photo of himself along with Johnson on Instagram.

In a lengthy post that has been liked over a million times, Diesel described the hit franchise “as a vehicle in need of maintenance.”

“As we plot the course to expand the Fast & Furious universe, one must be mindful to take stock of the roads we took to get here,” he said. “The pillars of authenticity, family and most importantly, our loyal fan’s perspective has been instrumental in procuring success.”

With Universal Pictures confirming that they’ll be pushing through with a spin-off film rather than the ninth installment of the series, Diesel also assured that the focus remains on the betterment of the series.

“My good friend and the godfather of Universal, Ron Meyer has granted me the time to do just that. We have some very exciting news to share soon… stay tuned,” he concluded. /ra -Khristian Ibarrola