As if the Fast & Furious franchise couldn’t get any crazier, more over-the-top insane, along comes Hobbs & Shaw. The spinoff is led by a bickering muscle-bound Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson, battling a cybernetic Idris Elba. The days of street racing on the streets of Los Angeles are LONG gone. But as wild as the film got, it somehow went further with incredible cameos that they were somehow able to keep a complete secret. SPOILERS!
It’s not even fair to call them cameos, really. These are guest-starring appearances, made by Kevin Hart and Ryan Reynolds, that inject even more humor into a movie that is as much about big laughs as big action. Their roles are pretty significant, and in my review I suggested they could become full-fledged characters that stick around for a while. Well, director David Leitch agrees. He tells THR…
“I totally do,” said Leitch. “That’s a movie I know I want to see. It’s certainly a movie I want to make. When you can combine real heart and soul — like we do in the ‘Fast’ movies — as Hobbs and Shaw are reconnecting with their families, that’s something everyone can relate to.”
“Then, there’s this undeniable comedic talent that’s providing great levity as we go on this classic spy plot that allows for these big set pieces. It’s a really good formula to have fun, and that was my intention. I hope that people respond to it.”
When word started to get out that there were some surprising guests in the film, most speculated one would be Keanu Reeves. The John Wick actor has history with Leitch, and rumors went around that he could appear. However, that doesn’t happen…but it sure sounds like they came close…
“We started to populate the movie with all these other personalities, and I just didn’t really think that we needed it, although I would’ve loved it,” said Leitch. “We even talked in post, and I showed him a rough cut of the movie. Then, we had conversations about ‘is there something here?’ We came to the conclusion of ‘let’s put a pin in it.’ I’m all for finding opportunities, but I also didn’t want to force anything. The mystery at the end of the movie where the Eteon director is nameless and faceless seems perfect for our ending because we had so much story we’ve already told.”
I think as long as Leitch is around the Reeves thing is going to happen. As for Hart and Reynolds, definitely look for them to pop up again in the future.
