If everything goes well, Fast & Furious fans could be seeing Idris Elba in the film franchise’s upcoming spinoff. According to Variety, the Golden Globe winner is in the final negotiations to play the villain starring opposite Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham.
Johnson and Stratham will step back into their roles as special agent Luke Hobbs and career criminal Deckard Shaw respectively. The script is done and production is slated to begin in the fall with Deadpool 2 director David Leitch leading the film.
Sources say Elba’s character will be the reason Johnson and Stratham decide to put their longstanding feud to the side and unite.
Statham joined the franchise during its seventh installment and it’s reported the chemistry with Johnson, as well as his popularity with fans, is what prompted the spinoff. The untitled action film is slated to hit theaters July 26, 2019.
While most fans were elated about the potential Hobbs and Shaw spinoff, Fast & Furious veteran Tyrese Gibson was not. During an October 2017 TMZ interview, Tyrese said he wasn’t mad at Johnson, but he felt it was “selfish” and didn’t approve of the timing. He also accused Johnson of focusing entirely too much on “furthering his own self-interests.”
Tyrese then revealed that the 9th sequel of Fast & Furious isn’t coming out until 2020 because of Johnson’s spinoff, to which Ty said: “That’s f**ked up!”