Hobbs and Shaw, Universal’s
Fast and Furious spinoff starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, may have found its villain. According to Variety, Idris Elba is in final negotiations to play the film’s main villain going up against special agent Luke Hobbs and criminal mastermind Deckard Shaw.
We don’t have specific character details for Elba’s character, but the actor is no stranger to playing the villain. Elba previously played the villain Krall in 2016’s
Star Trek Beyond and also voiced Shere Khan in Jon Favreau’s adaptation of
The Jungle Book. Elba is also coming off a very busy 2017 where he had roles in
The Dark Tower,
Molly’s Game,
Thor: Ragnarok, and
The Mountain Between Us. Dwayne Johnson took a moment to welcome Idris Elba to the cast of the action blockbuster.
Reports of Elba’s casting follows news that Vanessa Kirby - from Netflix’s
The Crown -
has also joined the cast. She will reportedly play an MI-5 agent and Shaw’s sister.
Production on
Hobbs and Shaw is expected to begin this fall with
Deadpool 2 director David Leitch at the helm. The script was penned by
Fast and Furious franchise writer Chris Morgan.
Hobbs and Shaw hits theaters July 26, 2019. In the meantime, let us know what you think of Elba as the villain.