Dwayne Johnson has teased that the upcoming spinoff of the Fast franchise will help expand the universe established by the previous seven films.
It was recently revealed that Universal Pictures was developing the first ever Fast & Furious spinoff starring franchise breakouts Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham along with franchise newcomer Charlize Theron.
During a chat with Fandango to promote his latest film Baywatch, Johnson explained that the spinoff is intended to flesh out the Fast universe when he was asked for an update on the project:
“It’s an exciting time for us over there with the Fast and Furious movies because the goal over there, speaking as a producer, is to build out the universe and really give something back to the fans that they like. I will say this – we never anticipated the chemistry that Jason [Statham] and I would have. Now Jason and I love each other – we’re really good buddies. But putting us in those scenarios where we were feeding off each other’s jokes was just amazing. That chemistry really blossomed on-screen, and it informed us as to where we will go next.”
Rumors of a spinoff featuring Johnson’s character Luke Hobb’s first surfaced back when Johnson returned for a second outing as the now former agent of the Diplomatic Security Service in Fast & Furious 6. Johnson then found an undeniable chemistry with Statham who played Furious 7 villain Deckard Shaw and returned in the recent The Fate of the Furious in which he and Johnson stole the show and due to the popular reception of Theron in the eighth installment, her villainous character Cipher is also being considered to join the spinoff.
Fast & Furious writer Chris Morgan is developing the script for Universal which may include a plot that features Hobbs forming an unlikely alliance with Shaw. The plan is for the spinoff to be made while Morgan and the studio develop the next Fast film.
No release date for the spinoff has been set, however, Universal has already dated Fast and Furious 9 for release on April 19, 2019, with the tenth installment slated to hit theaters on April 2, 2021.
Source: Fandango
