Over the course of eight movies, the Fast & Furious franchise has had a slew of different villains. Some of them have been less then spectacular, while others have been more than terrifying, and a true joy to watch antagonize Vin Diesel (shout out Charlize Theron). According to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the greatest of these villains is yet to come, as his upcoming Hobbs and Shaw spinoff features the “most diabolical” bad guy the franchise has ever seen.
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Early Friday morning, Johnson posted a photo from the recently-wrapped Hobbs and Shaw in which he’s sitting next to Idris Elba, rain falling in front of them. In the caption, Johnson praises the work of Elba and says that the actor has created an iconic villain with his performance.
“Creating an icon,” Johnson wrote in the post. “For Hobbs & Shaw we cast the one and only Idris Elba to be the baddest, most diabolical, most dominant and coolest bad guy the Fast & Furious franchise has ever seen. I thought it was a good idea to create an iconic character at the time I pitched it – until he started kickin’ the shit outta me for 14 hrs daily, in the cold rain and working thru weekends. The man to my left is my brother in arms. He also has a vicious Muay Thai elbow. And I had to open my big mouth. In the end, it’s worth the pain.”
The Hobbs and Shaw spinoff focuses on the adventures of Luke Hobbs (Johnson) and former villain Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), a duo that was widely loved by audiences when they worked together in Fate of the Furious. Idris Elba stars opposite the two franchise leads as the villainous Brixton. The trio is joined by Vanessa Kirby, Elza Gonzalez, Eddie Marsan, and Stephanie Vogt.
David Leitch directs the new film, which will be the first Fast & Furious project not starring Vin Diesel.
Hobbs and Shaw hits theaters on August 2, 2019.
