In a few days we'll get to see Jason Statham square off against a prehistoric shark in The Meg, but after that he'll be taking on Dwayne Johnson in Hobbs & Shaw. The Fast and the Furious spinoff was greeted with some controversy in the beginning, but with John Wick and Deadpool 2's David Leitch behind the camera, fans seem to be ready to watch the two bruising stars reprise their roles as agent Luke Hobbs and criminal mastermind Deckard Shaw.
Will it be as wildly over-the-top as the franchise has been, though? Not according to Statham, who tells Collider that Leitch is bringing a gritty realism to the film that is different from the "core" films...
“I think Dave Leitch’s taste is a little more grounded and a little darker. If you see Atomic Blonde, and it is just superb, his taste is definitely in a world that is sort of how you described it. I think he’s looking to do something that doesn’t look exactly like a Fast movie. Although it’s the Fast characters, he’s trying to do his own thing with it and give it a real sense of credibility. I think Dave is going to get this one gritty, and real, and fucking hardcore…
He’s really efficient and he really cares about the characters. We’re trying to build out my [character’s] relationship with my sister and with my mother and what that means. What my relationship is with [recently cast villain] Idris [Elba] and all these other things. He really cares a lot…
He wants to have the raucous laughs, the funny shit, the intense action and the great drama and the meaningful stuff. Dwayne’s got his relationship with his mother and the daughter. There’s loads of good stuff in it. I’m fucking excited.”
I don't expect gritty or real from this movie, no matter what Statham says. I don't think it's what audiences want this franchise or from Statham and Johnson, and Leitch, who did direct Deadpool 2, is more than capable of giving us comedic, exaggerated action.
Hobbs & Shaw opens August 2nd 2019.
