Agent Hobbs and Deckard Shaw might be back sooner than you think, and this time they’d be leaving the rest of the Fast and Furious team back home.
Universal Pictures is reportedly working on a Fast and Furious spinoff film featuring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, who played Agent Hobbs and Deckard Shaw in the multibillion dollar action movie franchise. They first fought each other in Furious 7 and their rivalry continued, and gradually turned into a steely bromance, in last week’s blockbuster The Fate of the Furious. Their chemistry is undeniable, and fans really want to see the rematch that was teased in The Fate of the Furious but which never quite came together.
Deadline reports that Chris Morgan, who has written every installment of the franchise since The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, is working on the screenplay. The film would force Hobbs and Shaw to team up, but beyond that no information is available, except that this spinoff film could conceivably come out before the next official film in the Fast and Furious series, which is still being developed.
Also: Interview | Chris Morgan on ‘The Fate of the Furious’ and the Redemption of Deckard Shaw
Spinoffs to the Fast and Furious series have been rumored for years now, ever since Fast Five brought every cast member from throughout the franchise together to create a new team dynamic. It’s an undeniably appealing prospect, not just for the fans but for the studio, who have to shell out big bucks for every cast member and who also have to wait for everyone’s schedules to clear at the same time before they can make another of their big ensemble action movies.
So a film starring one, or even two of these popular characters could potentially be easier to produce than Fast Nine, or whatever the next “proper” installment would be called. And given the popularity not just of their characters but of Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham themselves, this spinoff – if it gets made (remember, these are still the early stages) – could be a monster hit.
The question, of course, is whether the Fast and Furious movies will ever be able to fully redeem Deckard Shaw in the eyes of the audience. Even though The Fate of the Furious attempted to give Shaw a heroic, tragic backstory he still murdered a beloved member of the family, Han, at the end of Fast & Furious 6. So far he has yet to even apologize for that, so fans of Han aren’t happy that he’s getting invited to Toretto family barbecues.
All Nine ‘Fast and Furious’ Movies, Ranked:
Top Photos: Universal Pictures
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon, and watch him on the weekly YouTube series What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
All Nine Fast and Furious Movies, Ranked
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9. Fast & Furious (2009)
The fourth Fast & Furious movie is, in no uncertain terms, a total mess. The action is all over the place and the story makes no impact. The best you can say for Fast & Furious is that it moved all the pieces in position, setting the stage for some spectacular follow-ups that pushed the franchise in a more exciting direction.
Photo: Universal Pictures
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8. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
Vin Diesel sits the second Fast & Furious movie out and it's easy to see why. 2 Fast 2 Furious is a lackluster retread of the original, with forgettable drama and merely adequate action. The studio obviously didn't know what to do with this property yet, although at least somebody had the good sense to amplify the enjoyably overt homoerotic subtext.
Photo: Universal Pictures
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7. The Fate of the Furious (2017)
The action is as big as ever in The Fate of the Furious, but Dominic Toretto's motivation for betraying his team is kept secret for far too long, and Deckard Shaw's turn to the light side completely glosses over the fact that he murdered a beloved character. These two flaws make it a little too difficult to get invested in this outing.
Photo: Universal Pictures
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6. Furious 7 (2015)
What should have been the best and biggest Fast & Furious became a strange meta-textual farewell to the series' late protagonist Paul Walker, after he died tragically during filming. The action is great and Deckard Shaw is an incredible villain, but the changes that had to be made to the storyline make little sense. It's a miracle the film works at all.
Photo: Universal Pictures
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5. The Fast and the Furious (2001)
The original The Fast and the Furious is a shameless rip-off of Point Break, with a hunky young FBI agent going undercover with seductive extreme sports thieves and questioning his loyalties. But it's a good rip-off, with a fun cast, an emotional storyline and a great climactic high-speed heist.
Photo: Universal Pictures
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4. Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
Letty comes back from the dead - with amnesia, no less - in this ecstatically excessive sequel. The set pieces are epic, the emotions are epic-er. Everything about this movie is gloriously ridiculous in the best possible way.
Photo: Universal Pictures
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3. Better Luck Tomorrow (2002)
Before director Justin Lin started making Fast & Furious movies he made a big splash with A Better Tomorrow, a low budget crime drama about overachieving teenagers who turn to delinquency, mostly for the hell of it. Better Luck Tomorrow is a scrappy, somewhat ramshackle drama that packs a big wallop. More to the point, it introduced audiences to the character of Han, who would go on to star in multiple Fast & Furious movies, starting with...
Photo: Paramount Pictures
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2. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
A departure for the Fast & Furious franchise, but a welcome one, Tokyo Drift is a slick and effective Karate Kid riff that stars Lucas Black as an undisciplined street racer who moves to Japan and has to learn a new way to drive from Han. The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift would have been great as a stand-alone movie, but it became weirdly significant to the franchise as the filmmakers started turning the fourth, fifth and sixth installments into an elaborate prelude to its events.
Photo: Universal Pictures
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1. Fast Five (2011)
The best Fast & Furious movie is also, no bones about it, one of the best action movies in a very long time. The team dynamic is spot on, the action is incredible, the humor is genuinely funny, and the plot is simple and effective. The criminals from the previous films have to become unlikely heroes, turning their vehicular skills against a common enemy. Dwayne Johnson also shows up to finally give them a worthy opponent. And it all ends in one of the most wonderful and absurd car chases ever put on camera. Fast Five is the fastest and arguably the most furious installment yet.
Photo: Universal Pictures
