Idris Elba is joining the Fast and Furious universe. The beloved actor has boarded the upcoming Fast and Furious Spin-Off known currently as Hobbs and Shaw, which will focus on Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw. Idris Elba is on board as the main villain of the movie and is in final negotiations for the role. The Rock took to Twitter to welcome his new co-star with loving, open arms. Here's what he had to say.

"He's a baaaaaad man. Welcoming my dude @idriselba with tattooed and open arms to our #HobbsAndShaw Fast & Furious spin-off movie. Every hero is only as good as their villain. Cue the music... let's dance."

Getting Idris Elba on board only helps cement this as much more than a cash grab by Universal. He's easily one of the most talented actors working today and is very much in-demand. Even in the occasional bad movie, like The Dark Tower, Elba is usually the best thing about it. The Fast and Furious movies have become truly massive beasts at the box office ever since Dwayne Johnson boarded the series in Fast Five. The idea of spinning off his character Hobbs has been in the works pretty much since that movie reinvented the franchise and it's finally getting underway.

We recently reported news of a casting call that said the villain will be named Mr. Null. The bad guy, per the casting call, will be a "British villain" and an "international terrorist who dresses in all black." Sounds like something that fits Idris Elba like a glove. There have also been rumors that Charlize Theron's villain Cipher from The Fate of the Furious will appear in the spin-off, but that has yet to be confirmed.

Hobbs and Shaw is set to be directed by David Leitch, who most recently helmed Deadpool 2, which is one of the highest-grossing movies of the year. He also co-directed the first John Wick, then went on to tackle Atomic Blonde. The script for the spin-off was penned by Chris Morgan, who has been writing the main franchise since Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift. This spin-off was set up in The Fate of the Furious. Originally, a post-credit scene was meant to full tee it up, but Vin Diesel is said to have stepped in and had it axed from the final cut.

This spin-off also caused some drama, as it pushed back the release of Fast and Furious 9, which is now set to arrive in April 2020. Since Hobbs and Shaw will hit theaters on August 2, 2019, which means there is only going to be a six-month gap between installments. This could prove to be a true test of the franchise's strength at the box office. Production on Hobbs and Shaw is set to commence this fall. We'll be sure to keep you up to date as more details on the project are made available. This news comes to us courtesy of Variety.