Since 2001, there have been eight Fast and Furious movies which have collectively grossed over $5 billion at the box office, thus becoming Universal’s most flourishing franchise to date. So when the series decided to branch out with its first ever spinoff Hobbs and Shaw starring heavy-weight action stars Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham coming this summer, the upcoming bags of cash coming the movie’s way isn’t tough to predict.
On Wednesday, Hobbs and Shaw came out to CinemaCon in Las Vegas to boast some new badass footage and brought together the pair of stars sharing the spotlight in the Fast and Furious spinoff. Dwayne Johnson said this about why this spinoff was decided upon:
Our goal here with the [spinoff] was to build out the Fast and Furious franchise, we wanted to create something that was special. We wanted to create something that had our own tapestry, our own feel, our own energy. But the bottom line was we wanted to make something that is fun. And when I say fun, like Fast and Furious movies are fun and this is FUN. We reached the top level of fun with the Fast and Furious movies. I’m talking about fun, good amen. That’s what we wanted to do.
A little fun never hurt a summer blockbuster, and Hobbs and Shaw looks like it has a ton of it. The upcoming spinoff plays off the scene-stealing chemistry Johnson’s Luke Hobbs and Statham’s Deckard Shaw, showed off in the Fast and Furious films. The unlikely pair team up this time around to take down a genetically-engineered superpowered and flamethrower-wielding villain named Brixton, played by Idris Elba.
Hobbs and Shaw seems to let go of the reality that once grounded in the Fast and Furious franchise, as the franchise has gone for bigger visual spectacles and stunts for fans to be in awe of. Elba’s superpowers mark a big chang, and so is a marketed scene that has Hobbs scaling down a skyscraper as Shaw sleekly goes down an elevator at the same time. So, Johnson’s emphasis on “FUN” doesn’t sound far off … the franchise is going bonkers in the best way and fans are going to eat it up.
The upcoming blockbuster isn’t the last of planned Fast and Furious spinoffs either. There is a female-led spinoff also in the works including a couple of the writers of Captain Marvel onboard, out of three overall planned spinoffs promised to Universal. Fast and the Furious 9 & 10 are also in the works for 2020 and 2021.
With Fast and Furious spinoffs on the way in addition to the main franchise, will audiences get franchise fatigue? Hobbs and Shaw certainly seems to be shaking up the series with a fresh take and not taking itself too seriously. The movie hits theaters on August 2, 2019.
