By Ram Jadhav | Cinemadose Entertainment Desk
Ranbir Kapoor Exits Dhoom 4 So the rumour mill can finally stop spinning on this one. Ranbir Kapoor is not doing Dhoom 4. He said it himself at Comic-Con, and insiders close to Yash Raj Films have now filled in the messier backstory of how we got here one that involves a flop, a script rewrite, and an actor who apparently wasn’t sold on the new version.
Here’s the full picture.
Quick Facts Ranbir Kapoor Exits Dhoom 4
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Actor | Ranbir Kapoor |
| Project | Dhoom 4 (Yash Raj Films) |
| Status | Opted out / not attached |
| Original Director Attached | Ayan Mukerji |
| Reason for Change | War 2’s underperformance led to script rework |
| Ranbir’s Reported Role | Antagonist |
| Confirmed By | Ranbir Kapoor at San Diego Comic-Con |
| Ranbir’s Current Projects | Ramayana (Diwali 2026), Love & War (Republic Day) |
How This Actually Went Down
For a while now, Ranbir being cast as the villain in Dhoom 4 was treated as more or less a done deal in Bollywood circles. Ayan Mukerji was set to direct, and Ranbir was reportedly attached and just waiting on the green light from Aditya Chopra.
Then War 2 happened. It underperformed, Ranbir Kapoor Exits Dhoom 4 and that seems to have changed everything for how YRF wanted to approach their next big action tentpole. Aditya Chopra apparently decided not to hand Dhoom 4 to Mukerji after that, and the script went back to the drawing board.
Here’s where it gets interesting Ranbir stuck around through all of this, still attached to the project even as the director changed and the story got reworked. But once he actually read the new version, he wasn’t convinced. Multiple sources say the same thing: he wasn’t happy with where the script had ended up, and after a few rounds of discussions with the studio, he decided to step away entirely.
One insider put it simply for Ranbir, the story has always mattered more than the size of the franchise, Dhoom or otherwise.
Ranbir Confirmed It Himself
This wasn’t just trade gossip that stayed in the rumour zone. At San Diego Comic-Con, while promoting Ramayana alongside director Nitesh Tiwari and co-star Yash, Ranbir was asked directly about Dhoom 4. He shut it down without hesitation, saying his current lineup is just Ramayana and Love & War. Ranbir Kapoor Exits Dhoom 4, in his words, isn’t on the cards.
That’s about as clear a denial as it gets, and it puts YRF in a slightly awkward spot. Trade sources are now offering a different version of events, claiming the script itself is still being written and that no casting decisions have actually been finalized either way. So depending on who you ask, this is either a clean exit or a project that was never quite as locked-in as it looked from the outside.
So Who Plays the Villain Now?
That’s the real question hanging over YRF right now. With Ranbir out of the picture, speculation has already started about who steps in. A few reports have floated names as big as Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan entering the conversation, though none of that has any real confirmation behind it yet Ranbir Kapoor Exits Dhoom 4 YRF hasn’t announced a replacement, a director, or even a firm timeline for when Dhoom 4 actually goes on floors.
Given how the script is apparently still being reworked, it’s fair to say Dhoom 4 might be further away than fans were hoping.
Cinemadose’s Honest Take
What’s kind of telling here isn’t that an actor dropped out of a franchise film that happens all the time in Bollywood. It’s that Ranbir stuck with the project through a director change and a full script rewrite before finally walking away. That’s not someone bailing on a whim, that’s someone who genuinely tried to make it work and then didn’t.
It also says something about how much War 2’s failure rattled YRF’s confidence in their own action-universe formula. When a studio reworks an entire script off the back of one underperforming film, it usually means they’re not just tweaking dialogue, they’re rethinking the whole approach. And if even that rework couldn’t hold onto their first-choice actor, that’s a bigger red flag for Dhoom 4’s shape right now than any casting rumour about Shah Rukh or Salman stepping in.
For now, treat the Shah Rukh and Salman talk as exactly that: talk. Nothing here is official from YRF, and Bollywood casting rumours have a way of attaching three A-list names to every open role before anyone’s actually signed anything.
FAQs
Is Ranbir Kapoor doing Dhoom 4? No. Ranbir has confirmed he is not attached to Dhoom 4, stating his current projects are only Ramayana and Love & War.
Why did Ranbir Kapoor opt out of Dhoom 4? Reports suggest he wasn’t convinced by the reworked script, which was rewritten after War 2 underperformed and Ayan Mukerji was no longer attached as director.
Who will play the villain in Dhoom 4 now? Nothing is confirmed. Some reports have speculated about Shah Rukh Khan or Salman Khan, but YRF has made no official casting announcement.
Is Dhoom 4 still happening? Yes, according to trade sources the script is still being developed, though no director or cast has been officially finalized.
What is Ranbir Kapoor working on next? He’s set to star in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana, releasing Diwali 2026, followed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love & War.
Note: These details are based on trade reports and insider sources. Yash Raj Films has not issued an official statement confirming casting changes for Dhoom 4.
