It turns out that those waiting for Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs to return to the main Fast & Furious franchise shall go wanting. Johnson relayed the disappointing news in a recent interview, but now producer and president of production at Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions Hiram Garcia is backing up the news. Recently while speaking with Collider, Garcia confirmed that Johnson will not appear in Fast & Furious 10 or Fast & Furious 11.
Johnson made his Fast & Furious debut in arguably the franchise's best film to date, Fast Five. Snarky, sweaty, and always ready to rumble, Johnson's Luke Hobbs quickly became a fan-favorite character, especially when paired with Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw. Hobbs went on to appear in Furious 6, Furious 7, and Fate of the Furious. Eventually, Johnson and Statham starred in their own spinoff titled Fast & Furious Presents Hobbs & Shaw. The buddy action-comedy grossed $760 million worldwide, despite being one of the most contentious films in the Fast saga.
With that kind of money being made, you'd think that a sequel would have been fast-tracked. However, it appears as if ideas are still being tossed around concerning how to bring the characters back for another adrenaline-filled adventure.
“At the moment we’re trying to figure out what that sequel is going to be, but we have some very big ideas,” Garcia tells Collider, adding that Johnson not participating in Fast 10 or Fast 11 will not keep him from starring in a Hobbs & Shaw sequel.
“After filming Fast 8 DJ made the clear decision to close the Fast & Furious chapter for all the evident reasons. He wished them all well and shifted our focus to other storytelling avenues. So while he will not be in F10 or F11, that won’t in any way interfere with our Hobbs plans. Obviously, all these characters exist in the Fast universe and we love to see all aspects of that universe thrive and succeed. We just have specific plans for what we want to do with the Hobbs character and I think the fans are going to love it! We’re working to deliver something very unique and fresh and we know the studio is eager for us to get into it ASAP!”
While it's a shame that Johnson has no plans to return to the main Fast & Furious films, it's comforting to know that Luke Hobbs will live to kick ass another day. I guess that it'll be some time before we hear of any movement on Hobbs & Shaw 2, but at least the project isn't dead, right? Where do you think Johnson and Statham's Fast characters should go next? What could be the thing that brings them together for another round? Let's hear your pitches in the comments section below.