Those excited to seeDwayne Johnsonback as agent Hobbs in the upcomingFast and Furious Spin-Offalongside Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw are going to have to wait just a little bit longer. Emphasis on the little bit part. Universal has bumped back the release date of the spin-off by one week, meaning it will come out just a bit later in the summer season next year. The movie is now set to arrive on August 25, 2025.
This moves the flick from its previous, August 18, 2025, release date. TheFast and Furiousspin-off would have been all alone on its previous weekend, which is what makes this release date shift a little bit surprising. In its new date, TheRock will be duking it outat the box office withDora The Explorer, of all things, as Paramount is releasing the live-action take on the Nickelodeon series on the same day. Fox also has theX-Menspin-offNew Mutantsset for that date and, to top it all off, Warner Bros. has an untitled event movie pegged for that day as well. That makes for a very crowded weekend.
New Mutantshas already been delayed several times, so it wouldn’t be too shocking to hear if that movie winds up shifting again. As forDora The Explorer, a big-budget action movie with Dwayne Johnson seems like the perfect bit of counter-programming, so no real need to worry there. For what it’s worth, this also gives director David Leitch (Deadpool 2,Atomic Blonde) just a tiny bit more time to get things squared away.
Universal also has set theFast and Furious 9date for April 2020. That means there will be just a six-month gap between the release of this spin-off and the next installment of the main franchise. Will that hurt one or both of the movies at the box office? And perhaps more importantly, that seems tomake it far less likelythat Dwayne Johnson will appear in theFast and Furious 9as well. Considering the feud he had with Vin Diesel duringThe Fate of the Furiousand the resultingfeud with Tyrese Gibsonover this spin-off, that wouldn’t ultimately be too shocking.
TheFast and Furiousfranchise has been on an upward trajectory ever since Dwayne Johnson joined during the events ofFast Five. With that in mind, it’s no wonder Universal feels he can lead this spin-off, which gives them an opportunity to further cash in on the crowd-pleasing series.Plot details for the Hobbs spin-offare currently being kept under wraps, but Jason Statham in a recent interview teased a bit of what to expect saying, “Dwayne’s got a big appetite for action, and he’s got a great appetite for humor, and I’m sure it will be brimming with both of those things.” That sounds about right. We’ll be sure to keep you up to date as more details on the movie are made available. This news comes to us courtesy ofDeadline.
