The second trailer for Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw has arrived. Announced shortly after The Fate of the Furious hit theaters two years ago, Hobbs & Shaw brings the titular characters (Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw) together for an adventure of their own. Johnson and Statham's onscreen chemistry in Fate of the Furious was part of the inspiration for the spinoff to begin with, so it's only fitting that the Hobbs & Shaw marketing has played up their relationship (bromance, romance - you decide) since the beginning.
Written by Fast & Furious scribe Chris Morgan and directed by David Leitch (Deadpool 2), Hobbs & Shaw pits its hot-headed leads against Brixton (Idris Elba), a mercenary terrorist who's been genetically enhanced to have (quite literally) bullet-proof skin. Universal showed off some fresh material from the movie earlier this month at CinemaCon, including clips of Brixton calling himself the "black Superman" and waging a massive battle with Hobbs and his brothers on their home turf in Samoa. Now, some/most of that footage has been made available in the form of a new trailer.
As mentioned, this is the same trailer (bar perhaps a few minor changes) that Universal showed at CinemaCon a couple weeks back. In addition to teasing scenes like the throw-down in Samoa (the first full-on battle sequence in the Fast & Furious franchise), it also dives a little deeper into the story. According to the new trailer, the plot is set in motion when Shaw's sister Hattie (Vanessa Kirby), an MI6 agent, steals a deadly bio-engineered virus from Brixton, and subsequently turns to Hobbs and Deckard for help in not only keeping it safe, but also stopping Elba's bad guy for good. And just like the preview shown at CinemaCon, the promo features lots of back-and-forth banter and/or posturing between Hobbs and Deckard along the way, culminating with a ridiculous set piece in which the pair (with some help) use chains to latch several trucks onto Brixton's helicopter.
Altogether, Hobbs & Shaw continues to look like the delightfully over the top slice of summer blockbuster ham that its creatives (Johnson especially) have been promising it would be since day one. By this point, part of the appeal of the Fast & Furious brand is finding out how each subsequent film will top its predecessor, when it comes to the sheer silliness of its stunts and spectacle. Needles to say, this one's already done that. At the same time, the theme of family - both the one you're born with and the one that you find - has always been central to the series and that will continue to be the case with Hobbs & Shaw, judging by the marketing. If nothing else, the titular duo have already won this summer's award for best onscreen couple.
