Dwayne Johnson says that he has pitched an idea for a sequel to Hobbs & Shaw, and that the studio “loved” it so much that he was basically given a standing offer to make the movie at his earliest convenience. In a recent interview with Sirius XM, Johnson teased that Hobbs & Shaw 2 would be “the antithesis of what Fast and Furious movies generally are.”
After appearing as the special agent Luke Hobbs in four Fast & Furious movies — Johnson is considered by many as being one of the key factors behind the franchise’s renewed success after 2011’s Fast Five — he starred in the series’ first spinoff, 2019’s Hobbs & Shaw. Directed by David Leitch, the film was a commercial success, grossing over $750 million worldwide, although the critical reception was mostly mixed.
But now that it has been confirmed that Johnson will not be appearing in the final two Fast & Furious movies, his only connection to the series remains the spinoff franchise that he played an instrumental role in securing for himself.
Here’s what he said about the sequel:
"So when it comes to Hobbs & Shaw, which we loved making that movie, there’s an idea that I had that I called Donna Langley, called our writer Chris Morgan, our producer Hiram Garcia. And I said, ‘I have this idea and this direction for Hobbs.’ And I pitched it and they all loved it. It would be the antithesis of what Fast and Furious movies generally are in that they continue to go on and go on and go on. In this case, I still want to do the quintessential Hobbs movie. That, without giving it away, you watch a man walk off into the sunset. Donna loved it and they’ve been wonderful partners at Universal, but I said, ’You know, we have an opportunity here, I think to go against the grain and let’s disrupt things a little bit, and let’s create a movie within the Fast and Furious world that is unexpected, that I think people will go, ‘Oh man, like, wow, thank you for that.’”
Johnson said that the delay in making Hobbs & Shaw 2 shouldn’t be mistaken for hesitance on the studio’s part. Dismissing the need for any fan campaigns, he said:
“Honestly it is, ‘When do you want to make it?’ Or ‘when can you make it?’ I mean, this is Donna’s words to me is, ‘When can you make it?’ What I’m telling you guys is I reached a point in my career where it now becomes just a matter of timing…”
Because of his packed schedule, Johnson said that he now prioritizes projects based on whether or not they have what he describes as “the Moses effect,” which is, essentially, “an ability to push all other projects to the side.” He said that each of his most recent films — Red Notice, Black Adam, and Jungle Cruise — fit the bill.
Next on the list of his Moses effect movies is the recently-announced Red One, on which Johnson is collaborating with Morgan and his Jumanji director Jake Kasdan. He said that Red One, which will reimagine Christmas lore in unexpected ways, is at the top of Morgan’s to-do list, and the writer will have to finish that up before he can begin working on Hobbs & Shaw 2.
But first, Johnson be seen in Red Notice, the upcoming Netflix action-comedy co-starring Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot. The film will receive a limited theatrical release on November 5 before arriving on the streamer on November 12.
You can watch the original Sirius XM interview snippet here: