As principal photography on next year's The Fast and the Furious spinoff film Hobbs & Shaw continues in the United Kingdom, star Dwayne Johnson has shared new details about the film's principal antagonist.
Portrayed by Idris Elba, the new character was revealed as part of the film's cast this past October with Johnson revealing an image of the new villain and his name as Brixton. In a new interview, Johnson provides some insight on the character and why Elba was the best choice for the role.
RELATED: Dwayne Johnson Reveals Eiza Gonzalez's Hobbs and Shaw Character
"If you have Hobbs and Shaw...how do we create a villain who is formidable, viable, better, stronger, and more diabolical?" explained Johnson in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "I feel like we created that on the page, but then who is the actor who can actually bring that weight? And I’ve known Idris for some time now, and we felt like he was the perfect guy to come in and be our main villain."
The upcoming film will have the titular Fast and the Furious duo team up in London with John Wick and Atomic Blonde director David Leitch helming what Johnson promises as a no-holds barred entry in the popular action franchise.
RELATED: Dwayne Johnson Photo Teases Hobbs and Shaw Action Sequence in London
"Our goal with Idris to make him the baddest villain the franchise has ever seen. Coming in, he is undefeated," Johnson continued. "Idris is the perfect guy. Obviously, he’s a phenomenal actor, really brings a great weight and quality to the role — and a viability. He’s a big man and he’s a legitimate badass and a legitimate martial artist. I’ll tell you this, the past 10 days have been the finale; we’ve been shooting the big main event between us and Brixton. We’ve been fighting and it’s been pretty badass and painful, but great."
Directed by David Leitch from a script by Chris Morgan, Hobbs & Shaw stars Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, Vanessa Kirby and Eiza Gonzalez. It is scheduled to be released on August 2, 2019.