Instagram followers of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson just got an unexpected surprise – a first look at his darker, grittier, angrier persona for the upcoming Fast 8, the latest installment in the wildly successful Fast and Furious film franchise.
Remember that in Furious 7, Johnson’s character, Diplomatic Security Service Agent Luke Hobbs, was severely injured in a bomb blast. In terms of character development, that’s gotta leave a physical, emotional and mental mark on a guy. In fact, there are rumors that the strength of the Hobbs character may lead to a spin-off film.
Along with a first-look photo of Hobbs as he appears in Fast 8, Johnson writes:
When you strip a man of all he has. All that's important to him. You force him to return to his roots.. and sometimes that's a very dangerous and twisted place.
If I was going to return for another FAST & FURIOUS I wanted to come in and disrupt the franchise in a cool way that got fans fired up and their blood pumping to see a new version of Hobbs and his "Daddy's gotta go to work" mentality and set the table in a cool way for where the character goes in the future.
Maybe it's a spinoff movie. Maybe it's more #FF movies. Or hell maybe Hobbs just gets on his motorcycle and rides off into the sunset never to be seen again. Either way, I've had a solid first week of shooting, good to be back with the ohana, good to work again w/ my bud and director F. Gary Gray and our home studio of UNIVERSAL, as always have been the best partners to me and my #SevenBucksProds team. Most importantly... you guys around the world will really dig this new version of the role, 'cause as we always say, disrupters dent the universe. #Hobbs #TwistedRoots #1Disrupter #1Savage #F8
The much-awaited Fast 8 is currently filming and set to premiere on April 14, 2017. In the meantime, Universal announced recently that the film that started it all – the original The Fast and the Furious – will hit the big screen again in a limited nationwide run to celebrate its 15th anniversary. The rerelease happens June 22. Check out the rerelease trailer below and get your tickets here. Which is your favorite Fast & Furious scene? Post your thoughts on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook Fan Page.
