Jason Statham’s Fast & Furious Character Proves How Much the Franchise Has Changed

Who knew that The Fast and the Furious, a small crime drama involving stolen home video equipment that couldn’t be more 2001, would still be producing movies more than two decades later? This saga won’t die, and it’s constantly revving up its engines for new outlandish adventures. Starting with his prominent Furious 7 role, Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw has become an essential part of the franchise, to the point that he even headlined (with Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs) his solo film, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.

There are plenty of Fast & Furious elements that demonstrate how a series that started off as a Point Break pastiche has become something much more bizarre. However, Deckard Shaw especially encapsulates how this saga has changed over time. After all, it’s hard to imagine this character or Statham fitting into the original Fast & Furious mold, yet he’s become a core part of this automobile-centric mythology.

Deckard Shaw Wouldn’t Fit Into The Early Fast & Furious Films

When The Fast and the Furious opened in 2001, it was headlined by younger actors who were most well-known for memorable supporting roles in various 1990s features. For Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Vin Diesel, and others, it was their first leading role. Universal Pictures released The Fast and the Furious in late June of 2001, and it was no microbudget indie. That said, on its $38-million budget, The Fast and the Furious was a smaller film that couldn’t afford prolific, experienced stars. Arguably, the biggest names in the original film’s cast were veteran character actor Ted Levine and musician Ja Rule.

Once the film took off and inspired sequels, the budgets got bigger, and eventually, the saga could afford folks like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in Fast Five. Securing a veteran leading man like Jason Statham for Furious 7 (after his pre-credit tease in Fast & Furious 6) already exemplified how much the franchise had transformed in just 14 years. The days of $38-million budgets and relying on untested actors were over: now Dominic Toretto and his “family” were contending with villains played by Jason Statham. The Fast Saga had become known for its constantly escalating scope, and Statham’s casting reinforced that.

British actor Jason Statham taking on such a critical role in Fast & Furious installments also reaffirmed the saga becoming a global property. Fast and Furious started in Los Angeles, but by the time  Fast Five arrived, these movies had gone international, with detours to places like Brazil. Statham, with his unmistakable British accent and legendary reputation in that country’s cinema, never would’ve fit organically into the earlier, American-centric Fast & Furious adventures. By the time Furious 7 rolled around, Statham was perfect for a franchise that extended to locations like Antarctica, Italy, Abu Dhabi, and London, among other locales.

[RELATED: 7 Fast & Furious Action Scenes That Defy Logic & Physics]

Deckard Shaw Started Fast & Furious’s Redemptive Villain Trend

Perhaps the greatest evidence of Statham embodying the Fast Saga’s evolution is how Deckard Shaw started a trend of redemptive bad guys in this franchise. Before Shaw became a reluctant part of the “family” in The Fate of the Furious, Fast & Furious villains were one-off creations. The evil politicians in Fast Five would not stick around for multiple movies, and the 2 Fast 2 Furious gangsters who used rats to torture people did not receive third-act redemptions. They were all one-and-done bad guys.

With Deckard Shaw’s recruitment to the good guys’ side in The Fate of the Furious, suddenly all Fast & Furious foes had the potential to become allies. John Cena’s Jacob Toretto went from a brooding villain in F9: The Fast Saga to an endearing uncle in Fast X. Even Charlize Theron’s Cipher was working with the good guys in Fast X. The binary morality of the original Fast and Furious installments eventually gave way to a world where literally anyone could become a hero – even if they tried to kill Han (Sung Kang).

Statham’s Deckard Shaw kicked open the door on this trend and helped ensure a key part of the Fast Saga‘s evolution. His character’s boundless impact on Fast & Furious is even felt in how he headlined Hobbs & Shaw, a movie that solidified how Fast & Furious titles didn’t need Diesel’s Dominic Toretto. It’s undeniable how Jason Statham’s Fast & Furious character forever changed this franchise. This Transporter veteran was the catalyst that helped turn a saga, The Fast and the Furious started into something radical and expansive. And the franchise has been better for it.

Furious 7 is now available to rent or purchase from digital retailers.

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