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The Fast and Furious Franchise Doesn’t Need Vin Diesel Anymore
The Fast & Furious movies have been centered around Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto so far, but the franchise is about to outgrow him. The films started with a story about a team of L.A. street racers and has since evolved into a globe-trotting action spectacular with the same team (plus or minus a few members) taking on mercenaries, hackers, and terrorists. The franchise has become so successful it has even launched a spin-off for two of its characters: Luke Hobbs played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Deckard Shaw played by Jason Statham. And with the announcement that David Leith is directing the spin-off film, rumored to be titled Hobbs and Shaw, the stakes have been raised, and Diesel may be left behind.
It’s no secret that there is in-fighting behind the scenes of the franchise. While the films claim to be all about “family”, Johnson and the franchise’s star Vin Diesel, have such beef between them that the two men cannot even be in scenes together. Which means, once Johnson gets his own film, it’s more than likely that we won’t see him return for Fast and Furious 9. With the egos behind the scenes it is sure to make for some competition and a fight for superiority.
DOMINIC TORETTO IS STILL JUST A STREET RACER
Despite the increasing superheroics of the Fast & Furious films, Dominic Toretto, played by Diesel, is just a street racer. And a criminal one at that. Don’t forget that the Fast Family started their operation by stealing electronics and their illegal activities and races are what drew Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) to investigate them in the first place. Toretto is a skilled driver for sure, but his talents just include fixing cars and driving really fast.
The Fast Family can take on all sorts of heists and missions, but when it comes down to it, the stories of the film are about the family and their street racing origins. While that hasn’t stopped the movies from having increasingly outlandish premises, it has limited what the films could be. These people may perform outlandish missions, but they left the realm of believability long ago, with Tyrese Gibson’s Roman Pearce serving as possibly the only character aware of the absurdity.
Compare that with Hobbs and Shaw. Hobbs is a former agent of the Diplomatic Security Service. He is skilled with weapons and more importantly has the United States government to fund and back his missions. Shaw is a former member of the British Special Forces. He was trained in hand-to-hand combat, is skilled with weapons, and worked as an assassin and mercenary. These two men have formal training and very specific skill sets. It makes sense to have guys like this on your team when you are faced with taking down terrorist hackers or any other number of criminals the team faces. Hobbs and Shaw have backgrounds that make sense for the kind of missions they are taking on.
If the films are to split, this could allow the Fast & Furious films to go back to their (slightly more) grounded roots while Hobbs and Shaw take on the next big case.
THE MAIN FRANCHISE CAN’T MOVE BEYOND PAUL WALKER
The tragic loss of Paul Walker was devastating for both the actors of the Fast & Furious films and the fans. Losing an actor is never easy, especially one who has been part of a franchise for so long. The way Furious 7 dealt with Walker’s death gave the film an emotional core and provided the Family (and fans) an opportunity to say goodbye to one of their own.
But Brian O’Connor still looms large in the Fast universe. His relationship with Toretto made them the cornerstone of the earlier films. Since they did not kill Brian off, his character still exists in the universe. They can mention calling him when things get tough like they did in The Fate of the Furious, but it just makes his absence felt even that much more.
The Fast & Furious films will always live in the shadow of Walker. It is hard to break away from such an emotional event. The spin-off films will have more freedom because Hobbs and Shaw did not have the same connection to Brian the rest of the family did. They can get away with not addressing the lack of his presence.
THE HOBBS AND SHAW SPIN-OFF WILL BE THE BEST F&F MOVIE YET
Dwayne Johnson is the biggest, most bankable star in the Fast & Furious franchise. His latest movie, Rampage, was number 1 at the box office in its opening weekend despite its mediocre reviews. His previous film, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is Sony’s highest grossing film ever. In the next few years Johnson is set to star in Skyscraper, Disney’s Jungle Cruise, DC’s Black Adam, Suicide Squad 2 (potentially), and Jumanji 3. He’s a bonafide action star who can also make kids laugh in family comedies.
Jason Statham is no slouch either. He has been an action hero for years now with the Crank and Transporter films. His latest vehicle, The Meg, will see him take on a 70-foot shark. Both men will be able to take on any challenge their spin-off film will throw at them- and do with a sense of humor. The two men already have such great chemistry as witnessed in their scenes together in The Fate of the Furious (which is what earned them their own film in the first place). It will be great to see them trading barbs and punches once more as the leads of their own film.
Hobbs and Shaw is set to be directed by David Leitch. His credits include serving as co-director for John Wick; director of Atomic Blonde and the upcoming Deadpool 2; and stunts for the Matrix movies, 300, and more. When it comes to the modern action genre, Leitch is one of the best in the game. He even started out his career as stunt performer so he understands how to capture stunts in ways other directors might not. His experience on Deadpool will have allowed for him to experiment with mixing humor and action, perfectly suited for the tone of a Hobbs and Shaw film. His direction combined with the action experience and star power of Johnson and Statham will take the films to the next level while hopefully still providing the absurd physics-defying stunts fans have come to know and love.
If Hobbs and Shaw lives up to its full potential on paper, the other Fast and Furious films starring Dominic Toretto and company will be hard pressed to surpass the blockbuster entertainment value of the spin-off. With the Johnson Diesel feud likely preventing the character from reuniting for subsequent movies, Diesel will be forced to either play second fiddle, return his movies to their street racing roots, or throw in the towel. That is, unless they really do intend to go to space. Then all bets are off.
