Hobbs & Shaw’s mysterious villain will play a part in future Fast & Furious installments, according to the film’s writer. Starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, the film served as a direct spin-off of the hugely popular franchise. Johnson made his debut in 2011’s Fast Five. That particular sequel is often seen as the transitional installment, moving the franchise 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. Statham first made a cameo appearance in Fast & Furious 6 before featuring more prominently in Furious 7.

The explosive spin-off ultimately saw government agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) forced to team-up with criminal and former antagonist Deckard Shaw (Statham) to halt the machinations of a superpowered villain named Brixton, played by Idris Elba. The film also starred Vanessa Kirby as Shaw’s MI6 agent sister, Hattie, and featured several surprise cameos. Hobbs & Shaw also revealed that Elba’s character was only an instrument of a much larger and even more sinister force known as Eteon - which pulled the strings from within the shadows and answered to a mysterious figure known as The Director.

Speaking exclusively with Screen Rant in celebration of the installment’s official home release, Chris Morgan revealed that thread will not be left hanging. The news comes in the wake of Hobbs & Shaw’s slightly underwhelming box office return. Although it was far from a bomb, it was mostly saved by a massive showing in China. As such, it’s unclear whether the spin-off will get sequels of its own or simply fold back into the original saga. If the latter, it’s equally unknown whether Hobbs & Shaw’s storyline will be dropped or similarly handled. Asked about this directly, Morgan clarified the matter:

Johnson recently indicated a return to the main films. The latest installment, Fast & Furious 9, is already in production and expected to release in 2020. It will reportedly see Charlize Theron return as the villainous Cipher and, just a few days ago, Cardi B was added to the cast. A tenth film is also very much expected. Though work on the spin-off delayed the ninth film’s release, it likely did little to impact the already devised plot or the script beyond excluding Johnson and Statham. As such, the lingering threads from Hobbs & Shaw will probably not be revisited until at least Fast & Furious 10.

“This speaks specifically to being able to tell a story in a cinematic universe where not everything has to be jammed into one story, one thing. That is an ongoing reveal. I would direct the audience to… just hold on.”

Whatever the case, it’s a testament to how far the saga has come - often revisiting characters and maintaining a more serialized form of big-screen storytelling. In that regard, it’s not wholly dissimilar from the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the continuing adventures of John Wick. While it is too early to predict where the Eteon storyline will pick up - or where it will go - they likely already have an actor set to play The Director. The part was originally conceived with resurgent actor Keanu Reeves in mind. Though Reeves is currently riding his newly increased popularity with roles in a number of highly anticipated films, it was revealed that Reeves has been in talks to join the Fast & Furious family.

More: Every Fast And Furious Movie Ranked (According To IMDb)

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw hit Digital HD on October 15, 2019, and is scheduled for release on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD on November 5, 2019.

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