WWE star Roman Reigns joins Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in 'Fast and Furious' spinoff film

Reigns has been away from WWE as he takes on his latest battle with leukemia

by Jack Crosby

Roman Reigns and The Rock are teaming up -- just not inside a WWE ring. No, on Friday, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson announced via his Instagram account that fellow Samoan Reigns, real name Leati Joseph Anoa'i, will be making his feature film debut in the upcoming "Fast and Furious" spinoff movie "Hobbs and Shaw." In his silver screen debut, Reigns will be taking on the role of Johnson's brother.

In the post, Johnson expressed the excitement over his "cousin" being able to make his movie debut alongside him while cherishing the time spent with Reigns as he recovers from his latest battle with leukemia.

View this post on Instagram

The brothers’ roar. A lil’ HOBBS & SHAW exclusive. Good times droppin’ sweat and spillin’ blood with my family, @RomanReigns who’ll be playing my brother in our FAST & FURIOUS UNIVERSE. I’m very proud of his focus, effort and authentic performance in our movie for his very first time on film. I’m also very grateful to spend this quality time with my cousin here in the islands as he takes life one day at a time to recover from leukemia. His perseverance and humility battling this challenge has inspired our entire family as well as millions around the world in our beloved @WWE Universe. Can’t wait to see the “Big Dog” return back to the ring - his positive & focused mindset to return is straight up next level. Til’ then, this sacred Samoan 🇼🇸 ground you stand on is nourished with our ancestors blood. Today, we nourish it with yours. #WelcomeRomanReigns #Brothers #HobbsAndShaw THIS SUMMER 🔥💪🏾 @hhgarcia41 📸

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Jan 25, 2019 at 11:16am PST

Reigns finally claimed the WWE universal championship back at SummerSlam in August 2018 where he was finally able to overcome the challenge of rival Brock Lesnar, A few months later in October, however, things took a devastating turn. Reigns opened up the Oct. 23 edition of Raw by announcing that he was entering his second battle with leukemia and would be forced to relinquish the universal title he had won a few months prior.

In a follow-up Instagram post of his own on Friday, Reigns thanked his new film family and noted that this whole process has helped him as he heals from the disease he's currently battling outside of the ring.

"I cannot thank my family, friends and my new FAST & FURIOUS FAMILY enough for all the love and support I have received while on this exciting HOBBS & SHAW project," Reigns said. "The time I've spent with my cousin on this wonderful island has truly been a healing grace. I am grateful to the @wwe @therock@universalpictures and everyone on the set of HOBBS & SHAW, for allowing me to be a part of this franchise."

View this post on Instagram

Family Healing! I cannot thank my family, friends and my new FAST & FURIOUS FAMILY enough for all the love and support I have received while on this exciting HOBBS & SHAW project. The time I‘ve spent with my cousin on this wonderful island has truly been a healing grace. I am grateful to the @wwe @therock @universalpictures and everyone on the set of HOBBS & SHAW, for allowing me to be a part of this franchise. All of your outreach and support has been a blessing and it’s only pushed me to get back in the ring as soon as possible. But until then...I’m excited for this movie to premiere this summer, our culture and mana in this film is strong! 📸: @hhgarcia41 #HobbsAndShaw #BigDog #WelcomeRomanReigns #WWE #TheRock

A post shared by Joe Anoai aka “Roman Reigns” (@romanreigns) on Jan 25, 2019 at 1:13pm PST