Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (or simply Hobbs & Shaw) is a 2019 American action film directed by David Leitch and written by Chris Morgan. It is a spin-off from The Fast and the Furious series featuring two characters, Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw in the lead roles. The film stars Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, along with Idris Elba, Vanessa Kirby, Roman Reigns, Eiza Gonzalez, Eddie Marsan, Cliff Curtis and Helen Mirren.
The film was released in the United States on August 2, 2019 by Universal Pictures to mostly positive reception and grossed over $760 million worldwide.
==Plot==
In London, MI6 agent Hattie Shaw (Vanessa Kirby) and her team attempt to retrieve a programmable supervirus dubbed "Snowflake" from techno-terrorist organization Eteon. Brixton Lore (Idris Elba), an ex-MI6 Agent turned Eteon operative with cybernetic implants that allow him to perform superhuman feats, arrives and kills all the agents except Hattie, who injects the only dose of Snowflake into herself before escaping. Brixton frames Hattie for killing her team and stealing Snowflake, forcing her to go on the run. Ex-DSS Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and ex-MI6 Agent Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) are informed of the missing virus and reluctantly work together to track it down.
After a brief meeting at a CIA black site at the Leadenhall Building, Deckard goes to Hattie's apartment for information, only to get attacked by Eteon operatives, while Hobbs manages to find Hattie; after a brief scuffle, he brings her to the CIA office, as Deckard arrives and informs Hobbs that Hattie is actually his sister. The office is attacked, and Hattie is taken by Brixton, whom Deckard recognizes as an old colleague-turned-enemy assumed killed by him. Hobbs and Deckard pursue and rescue Hattie, and during an ensuing car chase, evade Brixton, who crashes into a double-decker bus. However, Brixton frames all three as traitors via Eteon's control of global news media.
The three locate Snowflake's creator, Professor Andreiko (Eddie Marsan), where they learn he purposed it to efficiently deliver vaccines, and to prevent Eteon from using it to eradicate humanity, Hattie, while the virus is still dormant, must either be cremated or have the virus removed with a specialized extraction device, which is located in Eteon's special facility in Chernobyl, Ukraine. Although Hobbs was briefly detained due to Deckard making his fake alias "Mike Oxmaul," the three manage to travel to Moscow. After rendezvousing with Deckard's former flame Margarita (Eiza González) to rearm in Moscow, the three infiltrate the facility. They retrieve the device before escaping in a truck during the facility's destruction, though Andreiko is killed and the device is damaged.
Hobbs takes Deckard and Hattie to his childhood home in Samoa to visit his estranged brother Jonah (Cliff Curtis), a talented mechanic, to repair the device and lay low before confronting Brixton's forces again. Hobbs has a tense reunion with his family as he turned his father in to authorities prior, but their mother (Lori Pelenise Tuisano) convinces Jonah to help. The makeshift battalion prepares for Eteon's arrival, disabling the weapons used by Eteon's team by temporarily shutting down their authorization code, and setting up a variety of traps around the island. Jonah successfully repairs the device and starts the virus extraction just as Brixton and his army arrive.
In the ensuing battle, the Samoans engage and easily overpower Brixton's reinforcements while suffering minimal casualties. Brixton recaptures Hattie with a helicopter; however, Hobbs, Deckard, and the Samoans bring the aircraft down with several custom trucks. Working together, Hobbs and Deckard alternate their attacks to defeat Brixton, who is remotely terminated afterward by Eteon's unseen director. The director sends a message claiming to know Hobbs and intending to persuade him and the Shaw siblings, while they promise to find the director; the group then celebrates their victory.
In post-credits scenes, Hobbs brings his daughter to meet their extended family in Samoa; Deckard and Hattie are implied to bust their mother (Helen Mirren) out of prison; and Hobbs receives a call from his partner, Locke (Ryan Reynolds), who has broken into a laboratory and discovered a more threatening virus. Hobbs also secretly has the London police set on Deckard in retaliation for the "Mike Oxmaul" prank, which Hobbs told the police that Deckard's name was "Hugh Janus".
==Cast==
*Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs, an ex-DSS agent assigned by the CIA to work with Shaw towards stopping the Snowflake virus, in spite of their disdain for each other.
*Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw, a mercenary formerly with British Special Forces and MI6 and Hattie's brother, who remains at odds with Hobbs, but joins forces with him to protect Hattie, the carrier of the Snowflake virus.
*Idris Elba as Brixton Lore, a cyber-genetically enhanced terrorist, Eteon operative and ex-MI6 field agent who has a history with Deckard.
*Vanessa Kirby as Hattie Shaw, an MI6 agent and Deckard's sister.
*Eiza Gonzalez as Margarita / Madame M, a high-profile thief, friend and former lover of Deckard.
*Cliff Curtis as Jonah Hobbs, Luke's estranged eldest brother, a mechanic and the computer genius of the family.
*Helen Mirren as Magdalene "Queenie" Shaw, mother of Deckard, Owen and Hattie.
*Roman Reigns as Mateo Hobbs, Luke's brother.
*Eddie Marsan as Professor Andreiko, a two-time Nobel Prize-winning scientist who created the Snowflake virus.
*Eliana Su'a as Sam Hobbs, Luke's daughter.
*Josh Mauga as Timo Hobbs, Luke's brother.
*John Tui as Kal Hobbs, Luke's brother.
In addition, Lori Pelenise Tuisano portrays Sefina Hobbs, the mother of Luke Hobbs and matriarch of the Hobbs family. Rob Delaney appears as CIA agent Loeb while the film's director David Leitch makes a cameo appearance as an Eteon helicopter pilot. Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Hart make uncredited cameo appearances as CIA agent Victor Locke and Air Marshal Dinkley. The Eteon Director, a role Keanu Reeves was in negotiations for, does not physically appear in the film, but is also voiced by Reynolds in a dual role, under the pseudonym "Champ Nightingale".
==Production==
In November 2015, Vin Diesel announced in an interview with Variety that potential spin-offs for The Fast and the Furious series were in the early stages of development. A spin-off film centered around characters Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw was announced in October 2017 by Universal Pictures and set a release date of July 26, 2019 with Chris Morgan returning to write the script. Variety reported that Shane Black was being considered to direct the film. The announcement of the spin-off provoked a response on Instagram by Tyrese Gibson, criticizing Johnson for causing the ninth Fast & Furious film to be delayed for another year. In February 2018, Deadpool 2 director David Leitch entered talks to direct the film. In April 2018, Leitch was confirmed as the director for the film and added David Scheunemann as a production designer.
In July 2018, Vanessa Kirby was cast in the film to play an MI6 agent and Shaw's sister, along with Idris Elba to play the main villain role in the film. In October 2018, Eddie Marsan joined the cast of the film. In November 2018, Eiza Gonzalez joined the cast of the film. In January 2019, Johnson revealed that his cousin Roman Reigns would appear in the film as Hobbs' brother. Additionally, he announced that Cliff Curtis, Josh Mauga, and John Tui would also portray brothers of Hobbs. Helen Mirren was also confirmed to be reprising her role from The Fate of the Furious.
Principal photography began on September 10, 2018, in London, England. Dwayne Johnson joined the production two weeks later, on September 24, 2018, after wrapping Jungle Cruise. In October, filming moved to Glasgow to recreate London. Filming also took place in late 2018 at Eggborough Power Station, North Yorkshire.
==Release==
Hobbs & Shaw was released on August 2, 2019 after being moved by Universal Studios from its previous date of July 26, 2019.
===Lawsuit===
In October 2018, Fast & Furious producer Neal H. Moritz filed a lawsuit against Universal Pictures for breach of oral contract and committing promissory fraud, after the distributor removed him as lead producer on Hobbs & Shaw. In May 2019, it was revealed that Universal had dropped Moritz from all future Fast & Furious installments. His lawsuit was settled in September 2020, and Moritz would later return to the series with F9.
==Reception==
===Box office===
Hobbs & Shaw grossed $174 million in the United States and Canada, and $586 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $760 million. Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $84 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.
In the United States and Canada, the film was projected to gross $60–65 million from 4,253 theaters in its opening weekend, while some insiders predicted it could exceed $70 million. The film made $23.7 million on its first day, including $5.8 million from Thursday night previews, the highest amount for both Johnson and Statham outside the main Fast & Furious series. It went on to debut to $60 million over the weekend, finishing first at the box office. Similar to the main Fast & Furious films, Hobbs & Shaw had a diverse audience, with audience demographics being 40% Caucasian, 27% Hispanic, 20% African American and 13% Asian. The film dropped 58% in its second weekend to $25.3 million, remaining in first, before another Universal film Good Boys replaced it in the third week.
In other territories, the film was projected to open to around $125 million from 54 countries, for a worldwide debut of $195 million. The film made $24.9 million from its first two days of international release. In its Chinese opening weekend the film made $102 million, grossing below projections but nevertheless being the second highest-grossing weekend of 2019 behind Avengers: Endgame.
==Critical reception==
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 67% based on 343 reviews and an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Hobbs & Shaw doesn't rev as high as the franchise's best installments, but gets decent mileage out of its well-matched stars and over-the-top action sequences." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 54 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average four out of five stars.
==Sequel==
In November 2019, producer Hiram Garcia confirmed that all creatives involved have intentions in developing a sequel, with conversations regarding the project ongoing. By March 2020, Johnson confirmed that a sequel was officially in development, while the creative team was not yet decided. Producer Hiram Garcia confirmed the project is in active development, following the positive audience reception and financial success of Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. The producer announced that Chris Morgan was writing the story. In April 2020, Morgan was officially hired to serve as screenwriter. Johnson expressed excitement for the next film, stating that story will introduce new characters including: heroes, anti-heroes, and villains.
In November 2021, Johnson revealed that he had developed an original idea for the sequel, which he described as "the antithesis of...Fast & Furious movies..." and that he had presented the concept to Universal Pictures chairwoman Donna Langley, Seven Bucks President Garcia, and screenwriter Morgan. He elaborated that his studio looks for projects that have qualities that they internally refer to as the "Moses Effect", explaining that this means that they take immediate precedence over the rest of the many projects on their film-slate; stating that the sequel falls into this category. He further teased that its development will progress, and continue following completion on their holiday-action film, Red One. Later that month, Garcia confirmed that work on the script is ongoing, calling the project "very ambitious".
In December 2022, Universal producer Kelly McCormack revealed the film's production has been stalled, stating "we would love to [make the sequel]. There's no conversations at this time".
==External links==
*Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw on IMDb
==Videos==
===Trailer===
Fast & Furious Presents Hobbs & Shaw - Official Trailer HD
Fast & Furious Presents- Hobbs & Shaw - Official Trailer -2 -HD-
Fast & Furious Presents- Hobbs & Shaw - In Theaters 8-2 (Final Trailer) -HD-
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