The Fast and Furious franchise has come a long way since its inception in 2001, and now it’s reached a point where it’s comfortable branching off from the main narrative. Enter Hobbs and Shaw, the first Fast and Furious spinoff which sees Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jason Statham reprising Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw, respectively.
While both these characters have been important parts of the Fast and Furious franchise for years, looking at the trailers for Hobbs and Shaw, it looks like there was a concerted effort to ensure that this movie is as standalone as possible and doesn’t require an intricate understanding of the last eight Fast and Furious movies to enjoy.
Nevertheless, there are a few tidbits of information that are worth knowing if you plan on watching Hobbs and Shaw (or Wild Speed: Super Combo, if you prefer) this weekend. So whether you’ve never watched a Fast and Furious movie before now or just need a refresher on past installments, here are the key Fast and Furious facts to know before checking out the spinoff.
Luke Hobbs Has Been Part Of The Franchise For Nearly A Decade
With 2011’s Fast Five, the franchise started veering away from focusing strictly on street racing and evolved into a heist action series. Fast Five saw the Toretto crew planning steal $100 million from crime lord Hernan Reyes, but along with dealing with him, they also had to contend with Luke Hobbs, the DSS (Diplomatic Security Service) agent tasked with bringing in the gang because he believed they were responsible for killing some DEA agents at the beginning of the movie.
Fortunately, Luke Hobbs eventually realized that Dominic Toretto and his crew didn’t kill the DEA agents, and while he wasn’t willing to let them go entirely free at the time, he did give them a 24-hour head start after assisting them with the heist and executing Hernan Reyes for killing his own agents. In Fast and Furious 6, he recruited the crew for an official government operation, and since then Luke has been an official member of the team, essentially serving as their government liaison. Dwayne Johnson is definitely is one of the main reasons the Fast and Furious franchise has been revitalized in the latter half of its lifespan.
Deckard Shaw Killed Han Lue
In 2006’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Han Lue was killed in what looked at the time to be a simple car crash. It was anything but, as Fast and Furious 6’s mid-credits scene and Furious 7 showed that Deckard Shaw deliberately crashed into Han in Japan. We’ll get into why Deckard did this in a bit, but needless to say this set him up as a villain within the Fast and Furious world.
Deckard Shaw served as one of Furious 7’s main antagonists, where he and Luke Hobbs first established their rivalry. Shaw has since morphed into an anti-hero and, surprisingly, an ally for the Toretto crew (that will also be discussed later), but there are a lot of Fast and Furious fans who still want justice for Han. Hobbs and Shaw writer Chris Morgan this is coming, but with everything going on in the spinoff and Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham sitting out Fast and Furious 9, we’ll probably have to wait until Fast and Furious 10 for the justice to unfold.
Luke Hobbs Has A Daughter
Aside from being a DSS agent, the only thing we know about Luke Hobbs’ life when he’s not hanging out with Dominic Toretto and company is that he has a daughter named Samantha, who was originally played by Eden Estrella. We haven’t learned who her mother is, but it’s quite evident that Samantha is Hobbs’ world, and we got a glimpse into their personal lives in The Fate of the Furious when Hobbs was coaching Sam’s soccer team.
Samantha is returning in Hobbs and Shaw, only this time she’ll be played Eliana Sua. It’s unclear how exactly she fits into the spinoff, though you can be sure that if she’s in danger, Hobbs won’t hesitate to race to rescue her. It’s also important to mention that Hobbs and Shaw will finally introduce other members of the Hobbs clan, as his childhood home will be the location for a major battle against Idris Elba’s Brixton and his goons. These family members include his many brothers, one of whom is being played by Dwayne Johnson’s real life cousin, Roman Reigns.
We’ve Met Other Members Of The Shaw Family
Deckard Shaw wasn’t the first Shaw family member introduced to the Fast and Furious universe. That honor goes to his brother, Owen Shaw, who served as Fast and Furious 6’s main antagonist, as he and his mercenaries were stealing high-tech devices worth billions of dollars. Unfortunately for Owen, he was tossed from a crashing plane and ended up in a coma, hence why Deckard Shaw went on a revenge quest on his behalf.
Owen Shaw finally woke up in The Fate of the Furious, the same movie that introduced his and Deckard’s mother, Magdalene, who instructed her sons to work with Dominic Toretto in the movie despite both of them still despising him. Magdalene will be back for Hobbs and Shaw, only somehow she’s ended up in prison. Luckily for Deckard, he won’t be lacking for family support out in the field, as the spinoff is introducing his and Owen’s sister Hattie, who, unlike her brothers, steered away from crime and is an MI6 agent.
Hobbs And Shaw First Teamed Up Against Cipher
In their first movie together, Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw were at odds. In their second movie together, they were… well, still at odds, but this time they were forced to work together. During The Fate of the Furious, they were recruited by Mr. Nobody to help the other protagonists track down Dominic Toretto and capture cyberterrorist Cipher. This was our first inkling of what a Hobbs/Shaw partnership looked like, although as the mission continued, eventually they were put on separate assignments.
Going from The Fate of the Furious to Hobbs and Shaw, the two men are still technically allies, or perhaps more realistically, not on opposite sides anymore. Deckard may have rescued Dominic’s baby son and ingratiated himself with the main team (because apparently “brotherhood” wipes away all sins), but Hobbs clearly still doesn’t like him, and the feeling is mutual on Shaw’s end towards Hobbs. Still, the two of them will need to get their acts together and form a truly effective alliance if they’re going to stop Brixton.
And now you’re caught up to speed on Hobbs and Shaw, which opens wide this Friday, August 2, though be on the lookout for preview screenings tomorrow evening. You can also look through our 2019 release schedule to find out what’s coming to the big screen in the latter half of the year.
