As is often the case, Super Bowl LIII is expected to serve up a smattering of trailers and exclusive snippets for Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters.
Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Toy Story 4 and Star Wars: Episode IX (?) have reportedly secured their place on the official lineup, though there’s another franchise that’s poised for a big, big showcase. Its name? Hobbs & Shaw, a star-studded Fast and Furious spinoff and the first to arrive without Vin Diesel’s name on the masthead.
If you’ve been keeping tabs on the franchise expansion, you’ll know of the reports concerning behind-the-scenes drama, which seemingly culminated in a pretty heated standoff involving Diesel and Dwayne Johnson. Word is the former was unhappy with the direction in which Fast and Furious was headed, leading to the ninth installment being delayed indefinitely in favor of Hobbs & Shaw.
Suffice it to say, Universal’s souped-up spinoff has a mountain to climb if it’s to attract the Fast and Furious fanbase, but if this new poster is any indication, Hobbs & Shaw will be retaining many of the franchise’s hallmarks – supercharged cars, exotic locations, and enough testosterone to sink a ship.
Front and center are Jason Statham and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, who has been banging the drum for Hobbs & Shaw ever since the movie screeched into development. And now, it’s almost time for Universal to showcase its wares, after Johnson confirmed via Twitter that the first-look trailer ought to be with us by tomorrow, February 1st.
Two worlds collide. Exclusive peep at our new poster for @HobbsAndShaw. Our WORLDWIDE TRAILER drops TOMORROW. Get ready for the biggest showdown the FAST & FURIOUS franchise has ever seen.
That’s quite the statement, given the Fast and Furious franchise tends to revel in larger-than-life action sequences (remember the skyscraper-to-skyscraper jump of Furious 7?!), but we’ll be able to judge for ourselves when Hobbs & Shaw speeds into theaters on August 2nd.