Everyone’s favorite will-they-or-won’t-they? couple since Sam and Diane on Cheers have their own movie. It’s called Hobbs and Shaw, and when it arrives next year, it will allow two favorites from the Fast and/or Furious movies — Dwayne Johnson’s tough-as-bricks special agent Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham’s baddie-turned-goodie Deckard Shaw — their very own private time together.
As is de rigueur nowadays (see also: endless Joker set photos), our first look at the film dropped on Instagram. Johnson took to his account to post a moody black-and-white still of the two actors staring at each other intensely from opposite sides of a table. It’s about what you’d expect, minus the arty lack of colors.
Earlier this month, Johnson posted a behind-the-scenes picture from the shoot’s first day.
When last we saw them, in last year’s The Fate of the Furious, frenemies Hobbs and Shaw brawled in a high-security prison before breaking out and joining the team effort to take down Charlize Theron. They spent the remainder of the picture mostly apart: Shaw had a memorable bit where he killed a bunch of baddies while holding a baby, if you remember.
The Fast/Furious films are getting increasingly ridiculous and outsized; the last one ran eight mere minutes shorter than Goodfellas. This spin-off sounds like it may be stripped-down and enjoyably violent. After all, it’s directed by David Leitch, the fight choreographer-turned-director who co-helmed John Wick and handled Atomic Blonde. (He also did Deadpool 2.) Leitch is an old school action guy, in that he knows how to film people fighting in a way that frontloads the action.
Of course, even if Hobbs and Shaw was simply two hours of Johnson and Statham in a staring contest, that could be riveting, too. Of course, that would be rude to the supporting cast, not the least being main bad guy Idris Elba.
