The upcoming Fast & Furious spinoff has found its bad guy. Idris Elba has been cast as the villain in the forthcoming Hobbs and Shaw movie to play opposite Dwayne Johnson back as special agent Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham as criminal mastermind Deckard Shaw. The Rock welcomed Elba with “tattooed and open arms” on Twitter.
He’s a baaaaaad man.
Welcoming my dude @idriselba with tattooed and open arms to our #HobbsAndShaw Fast & Furious spin-off movie.
Every hero is only as good as their villain. Cue the music… let’s dance. https://t.co/GD7dVrtNRl— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) July 5, 2018
Elba has a ton of impressive acting credits including The Wire, Beasts of No Nation, Thor, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War, Star Trek: Beyond, Luther, and The Office.
Elba is the third British actor in the film, joining Statham and Vanessa Kirby from The Crown. Kirby will play the sister of Statham’s character, who also happens to be an MI-5 UK counterintelligence agent. One could surmise that some or all of the movie will be based in Britain. The Shaws’ mother will be played by Helen Mirren.
David Leitch, who is fresh off of directing John Wick, Atomic Blonde, and Deadpool 2 will helm the Fast & Furious spinoff. The Hobbs and Shaw film will be released on August 2, 2019. Then if that’s not enough F&F action for you, Fast & Furious 9, directed by franchise veteran Justin Lin, will arrive on April 10, 2020.
Elba is no stranger to fast cars. The actor broke the U.K. land speed record by driving a Bentley Continental GT Speed at 180.361 mph on the Pendine Sands beach in Wales.