Although he hasn’t been part of the Fast and the Furious franchise since the beginning, ever since he jumped aboard during 2011’s Fast Five, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Luke Hobbs has become an integral character in this fictional universe. So much so that later this year, we’ll see him team up with Deckard Shaw again in the appropriately titled Hobbs and Shaw, the franchise’s first spinoff. However, because Johnson's still working on Hobbs and Shaw, and because Fast & Furious 9 is gearing up to begin production, it’s unlikely he’ll appear in the latter movie. As Johnson put it:
The plan has always been for the Fast and Furious universe to grow and expand. As of now, we’re not in Fast 9 because they’re getting ready to start shooting. But who knows, with Fast 10 and down the road, you never know. Because Look, at the end of the day, the truth is there’s still unfinished business between Hobbs and Dom. It’s unfinished.
Dwayne Johnson’s comment makes it sound like this rules out Jason Statham from appearing in Fast & Furious 9 as well since he’s Johnson’s costar on Hobbs and Shaw. But even assuming this holds true, as Johnson acknowledged to MTV, just because Luke Hobbs won’t be around for Fast & Furious 9 doesn’t mean he’s done with the main film series entirely. As long as he and Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto have this “unfinished business,” those two crossing paths again is bound to happen.
It should be noted that Fast & Furious 10 is intended to be the final film of the main Fast and the Furious film series, so having Luke Hobbs return then seems logical. However, like Johnson mentioned, this “universe” is growing, and along with Hobbs and Shaw paving a new direction, there’s also a female-centric spinoff in the works. So even after the main series wraps up, there will be other opportunities for many of these characters to return, possibly allowing for Luke Hobbs to reunite with either Dominic Toretto or one of his other allies.
We still don’t have any details yet about what’s in store for Fast & Furious 9, but whatever goes down, Dominic Toretto and his gang/family will have to make due without Luke Hobbs providing extra muscle. Daniel Casey is writing the script, Justin Lin is reportedly lined up to direct and Jordan Brewster will return as Mia Toretto, who was last seen in Furious 7.
As for Hobbs and Shaw, the spinoff will see its eponymous protagonists facing off against Idris Elba’s Brixton, an international terrorist leader. The spinoff also stars Vanessa Kirby as Deckard Shaw’s sister Hattie, Eiza Gonzalez as Madam M, Roman Reigns as Luke Hobbs’ brother and Eddie Marsan, among others. Deadpool 2’s David Leitch directed and longtime Fast and the Furious contributor Chris Morgan wrote the script.
Hobbs and Shaw charges into theaters on August 2, and Fast & Furious 9 will follow on April 10, 2020. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates about the franchise, and look through our 2019 release schedule to learn what else is coming out this year.
