Exclusive: David Leitch & Chris Morgan On THAT Hobbs & Shaw Cameo!

Universal Pictures’ big budget spinoff Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is now playing in theaters everywhere, which means the cat’s out of the bag about one big new addition to the franchise. We chatted with director David Leitch and writer/producer Chris Morgan about the huge Hobbs & Shaw cameo that everyone will be buzzing about. Check out what they said below, and SPOILERS BEWARE!

So in Hobbs & Shaw superstar Ryan Reynolds plays Locke, a CIA agent who has a history with Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs. Locke is introduced in a diner scene essentially giving Hobbs his mission briefing, and then appears several other times briefly throughout the film, including a couple of end credits scenes. As portrayed by Reynolds, Locke has the actor’s trademark snark and is not dissimilar to his goofy role as Wade Wilson/Deadpool, which comes as no surprise as David Leitch previously directed Reynolds as the character in Deadpool 2. Actor Rob Delaney, also of Deadpool 2, plays Locke’s associate Agent Loeb.

ComingSoon.net: The cameo from Ryan Reynolds definitely feels like plainclothes Deadpool. Was it just kind of a lark to bring your friend in, or do you see this character having a bigger role in the series moving forward?

David Leitch: I always saw the potential of Locke moving forward in the franchise or working with Hobbs or working with Shaw or working on his own or working with Rob Delaney’s character Loeb. You know, you could have “The Fast and Furious Presents: Locke and Loeb.” It never really started out as a lark, but it was a favor and I owe Ryan a huge debt of gratitude for coming on board. He took a stuffy exposition scene and made it fun and memorable and one of the highlights of the movie. He’s such a gifted actor and comedian that I was so grateful to have him come on board.

CS: David said he definitely sees a future for both Locke and the Loeb characters. Is the feeling mutual, you being a caretaker of this franchise?

Chris Morgan: Yeah, I wouldn’t bring anybody in as a character that I didn’t want to grow down the road. I like selecting our characters and just seeing what the chemistry is and then knowing that they may have a very important role coming up. So would I love to? One-hundred percent. And I’d also like to show specifically different sides of these characters. So whereas just for you, the Locke character, he is kind of funny and he’s zany and all of those things. He is also, in our minds, incredibly smart and really troubled and probably violent. It makes a really interesting mix, because Hobbs says this thing to him, he’s like, “You know, remember what we did back in this time,” when they were partners on something else, some other mission? That’s real. They were. And Hobbs wouldn’t partner with somebody who was just funny, you know? He needs to be effective. And when he turns it on, it’s scary. That’s what I love.

Did you like Ryan Reynolds’ Hobbs & Shaw cameo? Do you want to see more of him in future Fast & Furious installments? Let us know in the comments below!

In addition to Johnson and Statham, Vanessa Kirby (The Crown), Eiza Gonzalez (Baby Driver), Eddie Marsan and Idris Elba (The Dark Tower, Avengers: Infinity War) also star.

Directed by Deadpool 2‘s David Leitch, the film will follow Dwayne Johnson’s Diplomatic Security Service agent Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham’s assassin Deckard Shaw. The spin-off features a script from Chris Morgan, who has worked on the franchise since Tokyo Drift in 2006.

Ever since hulking lawman Hobbs (Johnson), a loyal agent of America’s Diplomatic Security Service, and lawless outcast Shaw (Statham), a former British military elite operative, first faced off in 2015’s Furious 7, the duo have swapped smack talk and body blows as they’ve tried to take each other down. But when cyber-genetically enhanced anarchist Brixton (Idris Elba) gains control of an insidious bio-threat that could alter humanity forever — and bests a brilliant and fearless rogue MI6 agent (The Crown’s Vanessa Kirby), who just happens to be Shaw’s sister — these two sworn enemies will have to partner up to bring down the only guy who might be badder than themselves.

Hobbs & Shaw blasts open a new door in the Fast universe as it hurtles action across the globe, from Los Angeles to London and from the toxic wasteland of Chernobyl to the lush beauty of Samoa.

Johnson produces alongside Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia through Seven Bucks Productions. Statham, Neal H. Moritz for Original Film and Chris Morgan for his eponymous production company also produce, with executive producers Kelly McCormick, Steve Chasman, Amanda Lewis, Ainsley Davies and Ethan Smith.