The Japanese title for Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is hilariously awesome. The film is, of course, a direct spinoff of the ever-popular Fast & Furious franchise, which first hit theaters in 2001. Dwayne Johnson made his debut in the long-running series in 2011’s Fast Five. That particular sequel is often seen as the transitional installment, moving the franchise away from an emphasis on street-racing and more towards being a series of outlandish, action-packed heist films. The move paid off, not only at the box office but also in drawing increasingly recognizable stars to the cast. Jason Statham first made a cameo appearance in Fast & Furious 6 before featuring more prominently in Furious 7.
A spinoff for the mismatched duo was announced in 2017, with the cast rapidly shaping up around the two leads. The film will see Luke Hobbs (Johnson), a government agent, forced to team-up with criminal and former antagonist Deckard Shaw (Statham) in order to halt the machinations of a superpowered villain named Brixton, played by Idris Elba. The film will also star Vanessa Kirby (The Crown) as Shaw’s MI6 agent sister, Hattie, and will see the return of Helen Mirren as the Shaw family matriarch. Rumors have previously attached various other names to the film, with Johnson reportedly once wanting Aquaman’s Jason Momoa to join the cast and fellow former pro-wrestler Dave Bautista throwing shade at the idea.
Each of the previously-released trailers has further solidified the film as continuing the franchise’s disregard for the laws of physics and anything remotely resembling grounded believability. As such, a new poster has given the film a very different - yet extremely fitting - new title. Posted on Twitter by a user named Matt McMuscles wanted to remind fans of the existence of a poster hailing from Japan. The artwork seen on the poster is exactly the same as that seen on the majority of posters released worldwide. Instead of Hobbs & Shaw, however, the spinoff is now called Wild Speed: Super Combo. Check it out below:
Hobbs & Shaw is directed by David Leitch. After years working in stunts, Leitch made the move to directing with the original John Wick film. More recently, he helmed Deadpool 2. Beyond that, he has a couple of films in the pipeline, including The Division, which is set to star Jake Gyllenhaal (Spider-Man: Far From Home) and Jessica Chastain (X-Men: Dark Phoenix). The main Fast & Furious installments, meanwhile, will continue, however, with Fast & Furious 9 in 2020. Johnson previously revealed he wouldn’t be returning for that film. Instead, John Cena has joined the cast.
In terms of the spinoff, there will be some that see the Japanese title as a tad on the nose. But such is the true brilliance of it. With Leitch having served at the helm and two stars as adept at comedy as they are at action, it’ll be a title that Hobbs & Shaw will more than live up to. It’s currently unknown whether the characters will receive further standalone adventures - or what other spinoffs fans can expect. Whatever the case, however, fans are no doubt in for wild and speedy ride with this super combo.
More: Fast & Furious: Every Movie, Ranked Worst To Best
Source: Matt McMuscles/Twitter
- Hobbs and Shaw Release Date: 2019-08-02 F9: The Fast Saga Release Date: 2021-06-25
