The Fast & Furious franchise has grown into a perpetual series of successes, moving beyond its mere automotive roots to become a landmark blockbuster tentpole. Fittingly, it's also featured several of the biggest action stars currently in movies, including John Cena, The Rock and Jason Statham. The latter's role in the series started him off as a villain, but he eventually transitioned into the status of an anti-heroic ally of sorts. After officially joining Vin Diesel's Dom Toretto's crew, the roguish mercenary Deckard Shaw also saw himself teaming up with his former rival, Luke Hobbs. Here's how one of Fast & Furious' villains became one of its newest heroes.
Fast & Furious 6 and Furious 7
A cameo at the end of Fast and Furious 6 introduced Shaw, expounding on the evens of Tokyo Drift. He was a former member of the British military who quickly earned a reputation as a loose but incredibly valuable cannon. When the military felt that he had outlived his usefulness, a failed kill squad was sent after him. Escaping their pursuit, Shaw went off the grid and became a renowned mercenary. Though groups such as Eteon spread misinformation about him, he had actually been a hero on several occasions and went out of his way to save civilian lives.
Shaw was the one who drove Han off the road and killed him. In the next movie, Furious 7, he sought revenge for what happened to his brother Owen, attempting to track down those who had hospitalized him. Shaw quickly came into conflict with Luke Hobbs, who tried to arrest the vengeful Shaw. This led to a long cat-and-mouse game between Hobbs, Shaw and Dom's crew, the latter of which Shaw vowed to take down. Eventually, Shaw confronted Dom. However, Shaw fell through a collapsed roof, and Hobbs captured and imprisoned him.
The two rivals broke out of their mutual imprisonment together, with Shaw then tasked to track the now-rogue Dom Toretto. He was instrumental in tracking Toretto down, although their eventual encounter resulted in Shaw being shot and left for dead. However, he showed up alive later in the movie and helped save Dom's son Brian. Delivering the child to his father at the conclusion, Shaw and Dom talked to each other and became friends, with Shaw officially joining the family.
Hobbs & Shaw
Shaw's next appearance was in the titular Hobbs & Shaw movie where he teamed up with his former rival for an adventure separate from the Toretto clan. This unlikely duo was forced together by the CIA to track down Shaw's sister Hattie, who had a kill order placed against her by Shaw's former organization of the MI6.
When the experimental super-soldier Brixton Lore captured Hattie, Hobbs and Shaw set aside their differences to save her and take Lore down. Unfortunately, Hattie had already injected herself with the Snowflake serum that the CIA was after, leaving her with only two days to live. They managed to sneak Hattie to Brixton, with the intent of getting close to the extraction machine that would remove Snowflake from her body. When the device became damaged, the trio went to Samoa to have Hobbs' brother repair it. While the restored machine extracted the virus from Hattie, Hobbs and Shaw truly teamed up, fighting in tandem to finally defeat Brixton Lore.
After the battle was won, Hattie and Shaw finally rekindled their familial relationship before going to meet their mother, with the film's ending suggesting that they helped her escape from prison. Though his role in the franchise's current film, F9 is fairly minimal, the mercenary is sure to play a big part in the final two movies in the series.
Directed by Justin Lin, F9 stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, John Cena, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Helen Mirren, Kurt Russell and Charlize Theron. The film arrives in theaters June 25.