Eight movies. One mega franchise. And now a spin-off that we already predict wonโt stop here. After all, we already anticipatedย Hobbs & Shaw before it happened, right here.ย Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is in cinemas from Friday 2 August and weโre getting a sneak peek at this monthโs M-Net Movies Night Out. Whether youโre the lucky winner of a couple of tickets or eagerly awaiting its release in just two days, here are a few things you need to know about this brand-new instalment.
Hobbs & Shaw is not a sequel to The Fate of the Furious, the eighth and latest movie in the F&F franchise. Instead, itโs a spin-off. Weโll get a sequel in the form on Fast & Furious 9 next year. That being said, chronologically speaking, the events of Hobbs & Shaw take place after the events of The Fate of the Furious.
MORE HERE: Ten things you didn't know about Dwayne Johnson.
Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham obviously reprise their F&F roles as the title characters, Hobbs and Shaw. In case you need a reminder, Luke Hobbs made his F&F debut in 2011โs Fast Five, while Deckard Shaw made his first appearance in 2013โs Fast & Furious 6. His brother, Owen (played by Luke Evans) was the main villain in Fast & Furious 6. Helen Mirren also reprises her role, as the Shawโs mother Queenie (actual name: Magdalene Shaw). Quite a fitting name, considering Mirrenย played the queen in The Queen!
MORE HERE: Ten best Jason Statham movies.
New cast members include Eiza Gonzรกlez, Eddie Marsan, and Vanessa Kirby. Kirbyโs previousย action outing was the supreme awesomeness of Mission: Impossible โ Fallout. However, as Shawโs sister you can expect a lot more action from her in Hobbs & Shaw. Like her on-screen mother, Kirby has also played royalty, having portrayedย Princess Margaret in The Crown. And of course, thereโs the inclusion of Idris Elba as rogue MI6 agent and supervillain, Brixton Lore.
MORE HERE: Lalla interviews the Mission: Impossible - Fallout cast, including Vanessa Kirby!
Hobbs & Shaw was co-written by Chris Morgan and Drew Pearce. Morgan has penned every F&F movie since The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Pearce is no stranger to action either, having written the screenplay for Iron Man 3 and the story for Mission: Impossible โ Rogue Nation. He also wrote and directed Hotel Artemis, this weekโs newvie on M-Net Movies Premiere.
MORE HERE: Eight things you need to know about F8.
Hobbs & Shaw is directed by David Leitch, whose directing credits include Atomic Blonde and Deadpool 2. His feature debut was co-directing John Wick, although he wasnโt credited for it. He has since served as executive producer on John Wick: Chapter 2 and John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum. Heโs also stunt doubled for Brad Pitt.
MORE HERE: Seven Fast & Furious car stunts.
Do you need to have in-depth knowledge of the Fast & Furious franchise? Should you watch, or re-watch, all eight movies that came before it? Although we anticipate the occasional Easter egg or casual reference, we suspect the story will stand alone (this is a spin-off, not a sequel, after all). Besides, you can totally expect it to deliver all the OTT action weโve come to expect from Fast & Furious, and thereโs also the very excellent and now-legendary riffing between Johnson and Statham to keep you highly entertained.
Missed out on tickets? Enter Augustโs M-Net Movies Night Out here.
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is in cinemas from 2 August 2019.