Dwayne Johnson may not be returning for Fast and Furious 9 and 10 in the wake of his well-publicized behind-the-scenes issues with franchise figurehead Vin Diesel, but that hasn’t stopped the actor from reprising his role as DSS agent Luke Hobbs in upcoming spinoff Hobbs & Shaw alongside Jason Statham.
The chemistry between the two action superstars was one of the highlights of Fast and Furious 8, and with Universal keen to keep milking the long-running series for every penny, putting the two together in a buddy movie was a no-brainer. From the footage seen so far, Hobbs & Show looks patently ridiculous, stupidly over-the-top, incredibly loud and just as dumb. All of which means it may very well be the most fun time you’ll have at the movies this year.
Jason Statham revealed in a recent interview though that some of the fight scenes they shot for the film were actually a bit too much for the ratings board, but that they might find their way onto the home video release, saying:
“A lot of it didn’t make the movie. Too X-rated. We have to snip, snip, snip all of the good stuff out and save it for the DVD. I guess censorship kind of gets in the way of the fun sometimes.”
Director David Leitch has also spoken about trying to find the right balance in tone between his previous work and the vehicular carnage that people expect from a Fast and Furious movie, and is looking to give fans the best of both worlds:
“There is some grounded practical stunts. You’re gonna see some great fight scenes in the style of Atomic Blonde or John Wick but you’re also gonna see your epic car action that you know from a Fast movie, your CG set pieces that do things that defy gravity. We really wanted to merge the creativity of what I do and what the fans in the Fast world have always loved.”
Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw also stars Idris Elba, Vanessa Kirby, Eiza Gonzalez, Eddie Marsan and Helen Mirren, and is set to hit theaters on August 2nd.
