When the fifth instalment of the Fast and Furious franchise, Fast Five, started filming in June 2010, little did newcomer Dwayne Johnson realise the impact he would leave. Back then, he was a retired wrestler, The Rock, who wanted to venture into action movies.ย
A decade down the line Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw is a spinoff of the phenomenally successful movie series concentrating on, you guessed it, Johnson's character lawman Luke Hobbs and outcast Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw.
Shortly after the movie's release earning $750 million globally, Johnson shared a few words on Instagram about the standalone film, clearly feeling overwhelmed and sentimental. He started off by thanking cast and crew. โLastly, but not least, I want to thank [my] brother Vin [Diesel] for your support of Hobbs and Shaw,โ he says.
Johnson adds: "What a wild ride this is, a wild ride it has been! Ten years ago when you and I spoke and you invited me into the Fast and Furious family. Iโm grateful for that invite and as you know my goal was always, in all these years, to come into the Fast and Furious world and help alleviate the franchise in any way I possibly could and if I could do that then, Iโve done my job. Here we are, 10 years later, this massively successful build out and expansion. We did it the right way, we did it the smart way and again brother, I appreciate the support and of course all roads lead to one thing. Iโll be seeing you soon, Toretto."
Toretto is a referral to Dieselโs character in the movie series.
See the video:
The spinoff idea came about in 2017 when both the studio and producers saw the easy chemistry between Johnson and Statham.
See two examples of said chemistry below:
Deckard Shaw (DS): "This job requires stealth. Look at you."
Luke Hobbs (LH): "I'm trying to save the world, which, for the record, will be my fourth time. 'Cause I'm really good at it."
LH: "You wanna tell me just what the hell we're dealing with here?"
DS: "It's my sister. Family business!"
LH: "When it's the fate of the world, it becomes my business."
Watch Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw, your Sunday night movie on 12 April at 20:05 on M-Net, channel 101.
If you miss any movie on M-Net 101 you can always watch them on DStv Catch Up or on M-Net Movies Premiere channel 104.