Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw spent its opening weekend proving that a movie doesn't have to have superheroes or be made by Disney to find box office success. The film brought in over $60 million in its first three days of release, showing the Fast & Furious franchise is only getting bigger and badder with age. But even though the movie is technically it's own spinoff standalone (and could become its own series), that doesn't mean there aren't a few easter eggs in Hobbs & Shaw.
The stars, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason Statham, who play Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw respectively, are later additions to the original Fast & Furious franchise. Johnson's first appearance was in 2011's Fast Five, while Statham joined in 2015's Furious 7. But it was their chemistry when paired up in 2017's Fate of the Furious that gave producer and writer Chris Morgan the idea to spin the two of them off in their own movie.
While little of the Fast cast turns up in the film, there's at least one reference to past events, as well as more than a few references to Johnson and Statham's careers outside of the franchise.
It's no secret Johnson started his career in the WWE, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. Though he has at times attempted to have a "Rock-ectomy" as it were, on his path to Hollywood, these days Johnson is more willing to embrace his heritage. That's just what he does in Hobbs & Shaw, taking the move to America Samoa for the final battle. He also got the film to cast his cousin, Joe Anoa’i, aka WWE's Roman Reigns, as part of his extended on-screen family.
The Rock isn't the only one who's previous career gets a shout out in the film. Jason Statham had a long career starring in action flicks before joining the Fast & Furious ensemble. One of the most famous, the Mini-heavy The Italian Job, gets a nod when the movie heads down to Shaw's underground garage and car collection. Passing a MINI Cooper, he notes, "That's from a job I did in Italy."
Hobbs & Shaw's main antagonist, Brixton Lore (Idris Elba), is a terrifying "enhanced" human. But it turns out he's just a pawn. The real enemy is Etheon, a disembodied voice who has been programming Brixton. Fans are betting Etheon is Charlize Theron from The Fate of The Furious or Owen Shaw, (Luke Evans) long absent from the series.
Another Jason Statham callback, this time to The Expendables franchise, brings aboard his co-star from those films, Helen Mirren as dear old mum.
Kevin Hart and Ryan Reynolds, who are both known as Johnson's close friends, have surprise cameos. Their presence calls back to other films The Rock has been in. There's Jumanji (with Hart) and the upcoming Red Notice (with Reynolds, also starring Gal Gadot, who used to be the Fast & Furious films). On Twitter, Johnson said their post-credit sequences preview the "future team" that will be part of the Hobbs & Shaw franchise.
