Idris Elba to play the villian in Fast & The Furious spin-off 'Hobbs and Shaw'
Just when fans almost expected that the cars from the 'Fast & the Furious' franchise will no more be seen racing down the city streets, Universal Studios has dropped a spin-off and this time fans will get to see Idris Elba cast as a villain against Dwayne Johnson's character, Luke Hobbs along with Jason Statham's character, Deckard Shaw. While the franchise usually sees a one-on-one battle between the hero and villain, the sequel- titled 'Hobbs and Shaw'- will see the characters join forces against Elba's unnamed character. Reportedly, Johnson and Statham will be at the center of the spin-off, after their characters Shaw and Hobbs stole the show with their racing chemistry in 'The Fate of the Furious' back in 2017. Statham had officially joined the franchise in the seventh movie, 'Furious 7' (2015).
Johnson also took to Instagram to confirm the developments: "He’s bad, but I’m dangerous," wrote The Rock on July 5. "Welcome my brotha @idriselba with tattooed and open arms...For years we’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to work together and this film is the perfect one. Every great hero needs an even greater villain. Cue the music... I’ve been waiting... let’s dance.[sic]"
While the film will be directed by 'Deadpool 2' director David Leitch, Chris Morgan - who has been constant in the Furious series since the franchise's third installment, 'Tokyo Drift'- will be working on the script. Johnson's character has achieved massive popularity among fans ever since he joined the force in the fifth installment, 'Fast Five'. The characters of Hobbs and Shaw immediately sent sparks flying in the seventh film, probably already paving the way for the spin-off. Elba's character will probably be bringing the duo together as a force.
Elba is not an odd choice for playing the role of a baddie. He has previously appeared in 'Star Trek Beyond' and has given his voice to Sher Khan, the infamous tiger who tried to kill Mowgli, in Jon Favreau's adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's 'The Jungle Book'. 2017 has been a seemingly busy year for him as he played in movies like 'The Dark Tower', 'Thor: Ragnarok', and 'The Mountain Between Us'. He most recently directed the Sundance film 'Yardie'. Elba is currently busy in the production of the Netflix comedy series 'Turn Up Charlie', which he created and will also be producing. He is repped by WME, The Artist Partnership, and Ziffren Brittenham.
The production of 'Hobbs and Shaw' is set to begin by the end of this year with a release date set in 2019. Reportedly, Original Film’s Neal H. Moritz will produce alongside Johnson and his Seven Bucks Productions partners, Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia, Statham, and Morgan for his eponymous production company. Kelly McCormick, Steve Chasman, Amanda Lewis, Ainsley Davies, and Ethan Smith will executive produce. Exec VP of production Mark Sourian and VP of Production Jay Polidoro will oversee the project at Universal.