Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw first crossed paths in 2015's Furious 7, but it was in last year's The Fate of the Furious where the chemistry between the two characters fully sparked. It was announced shortly after The Fate of the Furious' release that a spinoff centered on Hobbs and Shaw was in the works, and last October, this Fast and the Furious franchise entry received a 2019 release date. Now there's word that Deadpool 2's David Leitch is being eyed to direct the spinoff movie.
After years of working in Hollywood as a stuntman, stunt coordinator, second unit director and more, David Leitch made is directorial debut in 2014 with John Wick, and since then has helmed Atomic Blonde and the upcoming Deadpool 2. With Wade Wilson's next theatrical adventure only a few months away, it looks as though Leitch might jump to the Fast and the Furious universe next, because THR has heard that he is currently the frontrunner to direct the Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham-led spinoff. Right now Leitch is reportedly only in early talks for the job, but if everything works out as planned, Leitch will be able to lend his own considerable talents to one of the world's most popular action franchises, which is right in his wheelhouse. Chris Morgan, who has written every Fast and the Furious movie since 2006's Tokyo Drift, also penned the spinoff.
Dwayne Johnson joined the Fast and the Furious franchise in 2011's Fast Five, where Luke Hobbs started out as the Diplomatic Security Service agent in charge of bringing in Dominic Toretto and his crew, but he ended up helping them out in the end, and he's since become an integral member of this team of car enthusiasts. Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw first appeared at the end of Fast & Furious 6 and served as the main antagonist of Furious 7, wanting revenge for what happened to his brother, Owen Shaw. Hobbs and Shaw came to blows in both Furious 7 and The Fate of the Furious, but in the latter movie, they were forced to team up to help defeat the main antagonist, Cipher, and that's when we saw just how entertaining those two together could be when on the same side... sort of.
Although the Fast and the Furious franchise has shown that many of its protagonists can hold their own in a fight as well as behind the wheel, Hobbs and Shaw are among the more skilled brawlers. So having David Leitch direct their spinoff adventure would be an excellent choice, as he's a man who knows how to present sharp-looking, intense action sequences. Throw in how Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham are two of Hollywood's most famous action stars, and this spinoff has the potential to be something special.
The Fast and the Furious spinoff will race into theaters on July 26, 2019, so keep checking in with CinemaBlend for more updates on how it is coming along. The Fast and the Furious franchise also has Furious 9 scheduled for April 10, 2020. For movies that are coming to theaters a little sooner, browse through our 2018 release schedule.
