Fans of the Fast & Furious franchise should be prepared to love Hobbs & Shaw according to star Dwayne Johnson. The Rock made his debut as Hobbs in the franchise in Fast Five and immediately became the center of spinoff talks thanks to the reception of his character. He’s made four appearances overall and after all that time, a spinoff is finally the next step.

As evident by its title, Hobbs & Shaw will pair Johnson up with Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw, a previous villain in the franchise who turned good in The Fate of the Furious. Their on-screen chemistry in the last installment was a major highlight of the film and made their pairing immediately appeal to the masses. What exactly has brought the two men together in their own movie is not yet known, other than they will be fighting the villainous Brixton played by Idris Elba. But, some fans have wondered how closely Hobbs & Shaw will stay to the main franchise’s DNA.

EW spoke to Johnson about Hobbs & Shaw and asked him a variety of questions regarding the movie, the franchise potential, and the new characters they’re introducing. Johnson teased quite a bit, such as some “holy s— moments,” but reassured fans (including the interviewer) that the spinoff is keeping the ride-or-die attitude. Overall, he says fans “are going to f—ing love this movie” because of how it will surprise them and also grow the beloved franchise. In addition to the extended interview, EW also released this new official still of Johnson and Statham on set of the spinoff.

The Fast & Furious franchise repeatedly delivers popcorn blockbusters that are enjoyable partly because of their ridiculousness. The series has built up quite the fan base as a result, so Johnson and company making sure fans of the franchise will be satisfied is understandable. As much as everyone loves the wild action sequences, it is really the heart of these films and their family-focused narrative that have helped it find this audience. Hobbs & Shaw will be expanding the families for both of its leading men too, as Vanessa Kirby plays Shaw’s MI6 agent sister and a search for Hobbs’ family also reportedly happened.

That all said, Hobbs & Shaw is also going to differentiate itself a bit from the main franchise, and that could come with the action. Johnson wouldn’t get too specific with his words, but he alludes to less giant car chases and more combat sequences for Hobbs & Shaw’s action scenes. He mentioned director David Leitch’s action is stylistically unlike anything the franchise has seen before, and with bonafide action stars like Statham and Johnson, it makes sense for Hobbs & Shaw to let them loose and get in on the action physically instead of just sitting them in a car. And based on Johnson’s other tease of him and Statham recently having to fight Elba as they film the finale, a more grounded approach could be coming to the Fast & Furious world.

MORE: Dwayne Johnson Reveals Eiza González’s Hobbs & Shaw Character

Source: EW

  • Hobbs and Shaw Release Date: 2019-08-02