Entertainment

'Hobbs & Shaw' New Trailer Is Still About a Fast and Furious Family

Dominic Toretto is nowhere to be found, but the Toretto philosophy is still felt in the first Fast & Furious spin-off. 

by Eric Francisco

Forget the Avengers. The real heroes of the summer, Hobbs and Shaw, are about to blow us all away, maybe even literally. A new trailer for the first Fast & Furious spin-off movie Hobbs & Shaw has premiered online. And while it still doesn’t feature anyone from the Dominic Toretto’s crew, the film is still faithful to the franchise as it drops its favorite F-word: Family.

On Thursday, Universal Studios released the newest trailer for Hobbs & Shaw, out in theaters on August 2. The film stars Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, who reprise their roles from the Fast & Furious series. In the movie, the two bickering ass-kickers, Luke Hobbs (Johnson) and Deckard Shaw (Statham) are forced to work together to take down a genetically altered superhuman, Brixton (Idris Elba).

But they can’t do it alone. To defeat Brixton, the two men rely on their own families, as they recruit Shaw’s sister Hattie (Vanessa Kirby) and Hobbs’ extended family in Samoa (including Johnson’s real-life cousin, WWE superstar Roman Reigns, in a supporting role). They may not be racing exotic cars and import tuners, but they’ve still got the mileage for family as they fight Brixton not with guns, but wood axes and spears.

The climax of 'Hobbs & Shaw' will likely feature this major set-piece set in Samoa. True to the overarching theme of family in the Fast & Furious movies, 'Hobbs & Shaw' shows Johnson's real Samoan heritage, as well as members of Johnson's real family including WWE superstar Roman Reigns.

Universal Pictures

This new trailer is the second look at Hobbs & Shaw, which released its first trailer a few months ago. While the Fast & Furious films have shifted gears away from pure racing movies to straightforward action movies on the level of James Bond, Hobbs & Shaw takes it to a whole new level by introducing actual science-fiction with Brixton’s genetic enhancements.

In addition to Johnson, Statham, Kirby, and Elba, the film also co-stars Helen Mirren, who makes her second appearance in the series. (Yes, really.) The Oscar-winning English performer first appeared in the 2017 installment, The Fate of the Furious, in which she made a surprise cameo as Shaw’s mother, who forced her son to let Shaw’s brother Owen (Luke Evans) participate in his mission.

The film is directed by David Leitch, a veteran stuntman who graduated to directing with Chad Stahelski on 2014’s John Wick. After the film’s success, Leitch directed Atomic Blonde starring Charlize Theron, and 2018’s Deadpool 2 which starred Ryan Reynolds in his popular role as the violent Marvel anti-hero.

While Hobbs and Shaw have their own adventure, the main Fast & Furious films have at least two more movies scheduled to enter production. While Vin Diesel is currently shooing Bloodshot, the first film adaptation of the Valiant Comics character, Diesel confirmed in January 2019 that the ninth film will commence shooting in London. However, filming was post-poned until “late May or early June” a few weeks later. The ninth Fast & Furious is scheduled to open on May 22, 2020.

Hobbs & Shaw will be released in theaters on August 2.