With the Coronavirus continuing to claim victims across the world, more and more people are opting to place themselves in a state of self-imposed isolation in their homes. This has let many viewers catch up on older films that they had missed out on the first time around, like last year's Hobbs & Shaw, which is trending on twitter after being rediscovered by those stuck at home watching HBO's new movie for the night. This comes just after Fast and Furious 9 was delayed by a year.

Hobbs and Shaw was the Fast and Furious spinoff which followed the adventures of vitriolic frenemies Luke Hobbs, played by Dwayne Johnson and Deckard Shaw, played by Jason Statham, on a mission to stop the spread of a virus at the hands of cybernetically enhanced baddie Brixton Lore, played by Idris Elba.

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The bare bones of the plot are really just an excuse to put Johnson and Statham in a series of high-octane action scenes while displaying their surprisingly fine-tuned comedy chops when playing off each other. The film was a huge success at the box office upon release, and plans for a sequel are already well underway.

With worries about the Coronavirus plaguing the world, one can understand the appeal of a film where the spread of a deadly virus is halted by the combined muscle power of The Rock and Statham. While the real-world solution to the current global crisis is unlikely to be a series of sick stunts in tricked out cars jumping from the window of one high rise building to another, fans can at least indulge in the fantasy for a brief while in the comfort of their homes.

The unexpected surge in the popularity of Hobbs and Shaw is ironically juxtapositioned against the recent postponement of the ninth Fast and Furious movie to next year. The film had been hotly anticipated by the franchise's global fan following. Titled F9, the movie was set to take forward the story of rebel race car driver/government agent Dominic Toretto and his band of ethnically diverse teammates/adopted family. This time around, things were going to get personal for Dom, as it is revealed that he has a brother named Jakob who is just as dangerous as Dom, and who hates him with a passion.

An important reason for anticipation for F9 was the return of the character of Han, who had been killed off by Deckard Shaw in a previous film in the franchise. Fans were looking forward to seeing Han make his triumphant comeback, and also perhaps settle the score with Shaw, who is now considered one of the good guys.

But that confrontation would not have taken place in F9, since Shaw is not a part of the movie. The filming of Hobbs and Shaw last year conflicted with the shooting for F9, meaning both Hobbs and Shaw are unlikely to play a significant role in the ninth installment of the franchise that created their spinoff. Perhaps the sequel to Hobbs and Shaw will be where Shaw and Han finally come face-to-face and settle things once and for all. This story was inspried by findings at ComicBook.com.

Topics: Hobbs and Shaw, Fast and Furious

Neeraj Chand