It has since reinvented itself as an action/adventure series Five quick, The Fast and the Furious the franchise has produced one commercially successful film after another, including its first independent spin-off, Presents Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw. The 2019 action vehicle starred Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham as the “odd couple” of special operations mercenaries Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw, respectively, a pair who reluctantly team up to take down the black Superman (and cybernetically enhanced terrorist ) Brixton Lore, starring Idris Elba.
Hobbs and Shaw it grossed more than $760 million at the worldwide box office, meaning it took Universal virtually no time to announce a sequel. In November 2019, the famous movie studio told the world that Hobbs and Shaw would ride together once again. And then came, well, a whole lot of nothing. As Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham's Hollywood dance cards continue to fill with new roles, Hobbs & Shaw 2 it never managed to advance beyond the development stage and now another spin-off is ready to take its place. What does he have Hobbs & Shaw 2 evolved into? The answers await.
Why did production on Hobbs and Shaw 2 stall?
Behind-the-scenes feuds complicated the production
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson joined Fast and furious in 2011 as DSS agent and bounty hunter Luke Hobbs Five quick. This gave the then-flagging franchise a much-needed boost of high-octane action (nearly doubling the box office compared to the previous installment) and gave the series' longtime hero, Dominick Toretto, played by Vin Diesel, a obstacle. which could actually pose a physical threat. Two years later, Jason Statham joined the cast as 7 furious the big bad, Deckard Shaw, a man seeking revenge against Dom for almost killing his brother.
By the end of the next film, The fate of the furiousboth Hobbs and Shaw had switched teams and joined team Toretto (who, as we all know, are family). Unfortunately, a series of behind-the-scenes issues during the production of the film itself led to complications for the franchise. In the middle of filming The fate of the furiousDwayne Johnson took to social media to express his displeasure with the behavior of some of his co-stars, causing a heated back and forth between him and Vin Diesel on social media.
As a result of this disagreement (which essentially amounted to two bulls locking horns over who the franchise's biggest star was, with neither refusing to back down), in 2021, Dwayne Johnson refused to return in the series to star in any of the final three mainline titles, which would also include Vin Diesel. This decision, however, was not expected to impact the already announced sequel to Hobbs and Shawbut when no further news about that film materialized, fans began to wonder what was going on.
That same year, in November 2021, Dwayne Johnson did what he could to put fans at ease by revealing that he had already pitched an original idea for Universal's sequel, which he described as “the antitheses of Fast and furious” (yes, the man clearly had a grudge against Vin.) Johnson even went so far as to suggest that this sequel would take precedence over the rest of his movie slate once he completed work on the next Christmas action flick, Red One.
For a while it seemed like everything was back on track. And then, a year later, in December 2022, Universal Pictures producer Kelly McCormick told the world Hobbs & Shaw 2 had stalled, leaving the film's fate (how ironic) up in the air.
Wait, Hobbs didn't show up at the end of Fast X?
Yes, but not what you think
Dwayne Johnson's self-imposed exile from the mainline Fast and furious the franchise did not last as long as he had anticipated. True, he jumped F9but in 2023 he surprised audiences around the world by returning as Hobbs during a mid-credits sequence at the end of the film, in which it becomes clear that he has become the next target of X fast villain, Dante Reyes, played by Jason Momoa. At the beginning of the same film, Jason Statham also appears as Shaw, finally putting to rest the feud between him and the man everyone once thought he killed, Han.
The most confusing thing about all this, aside from Dwayne Johnson reneging on his promise, was that even though Hobbs and Shaw were seen again in the same movie, their paths had never crossed, and it didn't seem like the story was to work to put them back together again. Well, the reason is simple: it wasn't. As it turned out, Hobbs & Shaw 2 it was still very much alive, only now it had evolved into something new.
Will the Hobbs and Shaw sequel be a solo film or a team-up?
The messaging has been mixed
According to reports from Hollywood, and in particular from The Wrap, Universal Pictures has called an audible Hobbs & Shaw 2 and had an idea that will continue to see Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs team up with another member of the extended group Fast and furious universe in what will serve as a “direct continuation” of the main story of Fast Saga and a bridge between them X fast AND Fast X: Part II.
Once the news broke, The Rock took to his social media feeds to confirm the news, revealing that he and Vin Diesel had put the past behind them, which allowed Johnson to rededicate himself to the franchise and focus on the “North Star” to strengthen the franchise and entertain the many fans of the series.
For a while, fans were a little confused as to whether this sequel was supposed to be a standalone Hobbs film or another team-up film. With X fast having concluded with Jason Momoa's Dante Reyes vowing to get revenge on Hobbs for his role in the death of Reyes' father, seemed to point in the former's direction, but more news continued to leak out, and Universal eventually revealed the title of this upcoming film is Fast and Furious Gifts: Hobbs and Reyes, suggesting that Momoa's character will have a much more significant role in this film rather than simply being the heavy once again.
Although this is great news for fans of Fast and furious franchise, especially for those who love the character of Luke Hobbs, this update also came with some bad news. Hobbs & Shaw 2 it was effectively shelved, perhaps forever, in place of this new idea.
Will Hobbs & Shaw 2 Now never get made?
They haven't finished the road yet
Before his apparent cancellation, Dwayne Johnson had pitched Hobbs & Shaw 2 as the “quintessential Hobbs film” and one that could provide the definitive end to his character. In fact, it seems that Johnson's original plan for the sequel was to offer a Logan –conclusion that would see Luke Hobbs ride off into the sunset and never return. So why didn't this idea ultimately take root? Let's be honest: in Hollywood it's always about money.
|
Title |
Budget |
Box office |
|---|---|---|
|
The Fast and the Furious |
$38 million |
$207.3 million |
|
2 Fast 2 Furious |
$76 million |
$236.4 million |
|
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift |
$85 million |
$159 million |
|
Fast and furious |
$85 million |
$360.4 million |
|
Five quick |
$125 million |
$626.1 million |
|
Fast and furious 6 |
$200 million |
$788.7 million |
|
Furious 7 |
$190 million |
$1.51 billion |
|
The fate of the furious |
$260 million |
$1.24 billion |
|
Presents Fast & Furious: Hobbs and Shaw |
$200 million |
$760.7 million |
|
F9 |
$210 million |
$726.2 million |
|
X fast |
$378.8 million |
$714 million |
Yes, the Fast and furious the franchise has begun to see the feared decline in its overall box office revenue since it peaked with the release of Furious 7 in 2015. Combine it with Hobbs and Shaw being the lowest-grossing film in the franchise since the series' soft reboot (which wasn't released during a pandemic), and you can guess why studio executives got cold feet with Dwayne Johnson's idea.
Rather than produce a film that can provide a definitive conclusion to one of its characters, Universal Pictures clearly wants to see if it can harness The Rock's star power to spark a box office resurgence for the franchise. It's an intelligent work that still leaves the door open for a possible sequel Hobbs and Shaw a little later down the road. Of course, if the Fast and furious the numbers continue to decline, and not even The Rock's return can stop it, so we may see the entire Toretto family, not just Hobbs, ride off into the sunset in the near future.