The Fast & Furious franchise gave us much to remember and be thankful for, one of which was the dynamic duo Hobbs & Shaw and their eponymous spin-off movie. Portrayed by The Rock and Jason Statham respectively, the pair is one of the best comic frenemies to have ever graced the big screens. And even though their story is far from over, some complications on the sets of the Fast & Furious films, its eighth installment to be specific, have landed the crew of the spin-off movie in indefinite waters, with no sequel in sight in the near future.

No Reassurance For a Hobbs & Shaw Sequel in the Future

The David Leitch-directed high-octane buddy action film that premiered in August 2019 still remains one of the best aspects to have come out of Dominic Toretto’s family-friendly drift franchise. Setting their classically epic rivalry aside for the duration of the film’s chronology, CIA agent Luke Hobbs and British mercenary Deckard Shaw unite momentarily, to the great pain and frustration of their fellow co-workers and the immense joy of the moviegoers, to take down a common enemy.

The movie which witnessed great action, keeping in tandem with its parent franchise, quickly became a fan favorite and saw high-profile cameos from the likes of Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Hart. The demand for a sequel was then the obvious next step for the production to consider in moving forward, and despite the transitory pause of the pandemic, the probability ranked high to get the titular duo back on the screen as soon as possible.

But 3 years down the line, things have gotten messier between The Rock and Vin Diesel following their very public feud. It is then understandable why the former would want to cut all ties with the franchise, leaving the Hobbs & Shaw sequel only a distant dream for the fans.

Hobbs & Shaw Producer Lets The Rock Decide Sequel’s Fate
It is not merely the feud between Vin Diesel and The Rock that has gotten in the way of the Hobbs & Shaw sequel. The newly recruited DCU lead has become engrossed with the CBM industry’s slate that promises a much more expansive vision than was ever attempted by DC before. Debuting as Black Adam, The Rock is now fully committed to the DCU’s strategic future and promises to be an important centerpiece in the franchise’s 10-year narrative.

Kelly McCormick, the producer of Hobbs & Shaw, has now left the decision of the spin-off sequel in the hands of The Rock, the latter being the one whose wishes need to be respected in the current situation given his feud with Vin Diesel and his already full plate with the DCU.

“We would love to, there’s no conversations at this time. I do feel like there were a lot of seeds planted to try to create a spinoff in a way that included a Kevin Hart and a Ryan Reynolds and sort of all that kind of stuff. And that was intentional, but not necessarily because we had plans in mind, just because it would be fun to have different players for them to play with, if anybody, or we wanted to go for it in a different way. So, you know, I don’t know, I mean Dwayne’s a really busy guy and you know, he would be the one to motivate all of that. So, you know, we’re ready if he wants to and until then he’s just dominating so all power to him.”

The future narrative of DCU is still under construction and once James Gunn lays down his plans, it might seem a bit clearer as to The Rock’s schedule and involvement with the superhero franchise. It is not uncommon for actors to pursue or helm multiple franchises simultaneously, and if The Rock seems willing, there might still be hope for the Fast & Furious fandom to witness another epic team-up before bidding proper adieu to the Hobbs & Shaw enterprise.

Hobbs & Shaw is currently available to buy or rent on Amazon Prime and Vudu.

Source: ComicBook