Why would you be watching Contagion or Outbreak right now? Sure, they’re relevant pieces of entertainment amidst the coronavirus pandemic. But we don’t need to be reminded of the current state of affairs. What we need is to turn our brains off and watch a fun action movie that’s also kind of about a potential virus threatening mankind.
And it looks like a lot of people are choosing that option, because Hobbs & Shaw is trending on Twitter as many would rather watch Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham kick ass.
Throwing on Hobbs & Shaw because I want some dumbhead fun and IT IS GIVING ME DUMBHEAD FUN. pic.twitter.com/Fj9ffNSiXc
— Rus McLaughlin (@rusmclaughlin) March 15, 2020
I hate Hobbs and Shaw but it's so addictive. I can't turn away from this foolishness. Comic book movies are more realistic than the Fast and Furious franchise.
— Pusha Bre (@IamRobBre) March 16, 2020
Hobbs and Shaw is the most ridiculous action movie ever, but it’s entertaining as shit
— Parker B (@TheAdvokate) March 16, 2020
Since I'm opting out of live death metal in the name of #SocialDistance, I figured I owe myself some appropriately knuckle dragging fun. Gonna drink a tallboy and watch Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson sling terrible one liners at each other in #HobbsAndShaw
— Formulas Fatal to the Fash 🇵🇸 (@ras_al_cool) March 15, 2020
Holy shit Hobbs and Shaw is BY MILES the best F&F movie (IN THE ENTIRE EXPANDED UNIVERSE)!
It’s like the Thor: Ragnarok of the Fast and Furious series. OMG that was so good— Schraver (@Schraver_M) March 15, 2020
If you've never seen a Fast and Furious movie, will Hobbs and Shaw make sense?
Asking for someone socially distancing on a Saturday night.
— Christina Reynolds (@creynoldsnc) March 15, 2020
Watching Hobbs and Shaw….. programmable disease that goes global, some chick got it on her hands and is running around touching stuff, no one knows what to do…. pic.twitter.com/l5ah56LZ9F
— RosébuDD (@Lray1911) March 15, 2020
While the movie didn’t quite do Fast & Furious money, the spinoff did pull in more than $700 million worldwide, warranting a follow up. And according to producer Hiram Garcia, talk has already begun about a possible sequel.
“We are having conversations, we were so happy with how it did,” he explained. “The studio was extremely happy and there’s been a lot of great conversations just about seeing where things lay out. Obviously [Fast & Furious 9] is on its way. That’s going to do great things. Taking some bits from that, cause it’s all a shared universe and it’s all in the works.”
Unfortunately, Fast & Furious 9 is now delayed a full year due to the virus and Johnson’s current project, Red Notice, was also shut down. So, we’re not going to be getting a Hobbs & Shaw sequel or a new Johnson action vehicle for a while.
In the meantime, why not brush up on your Fast & Furious knowledge so that when F9 does eventually hit theaters, you’ll be ready? Nine movies and multiple subplots are a lot of homework, but what else is there to do?
Why not learn about how they manage to make these big action films, too. Vehicle Coordinator Alex King spoke about the cars being so important to the production that they would think about them as characters themselves.
“There’s a whole load of elements if I’m honest. For example, in this show, it’s a director, designer deal early on. Sometimes, it’s a manufacturing idea […] If you start from scratch, you’re looking at what the person is like. From where I am, I like to think of the cars as characters themselves. They’re their own cast. So it depends on what you need, what the guy or the female’s background is like, and then you just kind of get the car that suits and fits.”
“From storyboard, concepts, ideas – you can sort of see what would be ridiculous to do for real,” King added. “We always try and find a solution or a way around and if it gets to a point where it’s impossible to do or it’s ever deemed unsafe, then that’s where your line is.”
That’s what’s great about action movies. They exist in a fantastical world that we can’t even begin to comprehend. But we love being transported there because it’s a release from our daily lives. And what better time for that than now? We’re encouraged not to escape our homes during this crisis, so we might as well escape inside a world like Hobbs & Shaw, right?
