Dwayne Johnson confirms he will be back as Hobbs in ‘Furious 8’, while addressing the possibility of a Hobbs spinoff movie.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is officially on board for the eighth installment of Fast and Furious, reports Collider. At a press conference promoting the brawny actor’s new film,San Andreas, Johnson had a simple answer the question of whether or not he’d be in the upcoming Furious 8: “Of course. It can’t go on without Hobbs.”

That’s not far from the truth. The former WWE star has quickly become one of the best parts of the Fast and Furious franchise since his first appearance in Fast Five. His combination of commanding screen presence and comedic delivery brings some much-appreciated levity to the overwrought series. The latest Furious 7 suffered, in part, due to his limited role.

“IT CAN’T GO ON WITHOUT HOBBS.”

In fact, he plays such key part of the series, that there’s been rumors of a Hobbs-centered spinoff film, because the endless supply of Fast and Furious films definitely isn’t enough. At the same press event, Johnson answered a question regarding a possible spinoff thusly:

We all are interested in it. I just had a big conversation with the studio. So we’ll see. I still think for me personally we’ve created a little bit of space for him in 7 and the gauge is set for what the audience will want. That’s my take on it, you know, but a lot of other people have to have input.

So that’s definitely not a confirmation that it’s happening, but it does make the spinoff much more than a simple rumor. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, Furious 8 is set for an April 14, 2017 release date, and now we know that both Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson, at the very least, will return.