It was right around the time Dwayne Johnson lassoed a helicopter with his bear hands (not a typo) in Hobbs & Shaw that I realized I was witnessing flawless art. Any news of a sequel would be much appreciated, and like usual it’s Johnson himself who came through. During a recent Instagram Live Q&A [via Screenrant], the actor confirmed Hobbs & Shaw 2 is in development.

“We are developing now the next film, the next [Hobbs & Shaw] movie, and I’m pretty excited about it…Just gotta figure out the creative right now, and the direction we’re going to go,” Johnson wrote.

Set within the physics-free world of the Fast & the Furious franchise, the film sees Johnson and Jason Statham reprise their roles of DSS agent Luke Hobbs and mercenary Deckard Shaw, teaming up with Vanessa Kirby‘s Hattie Shaw to take down eco-terrorist Brixton (Idris Elba). Hobbs & Shaw netted an impressive $759 million worldwide, and a sequel was always more of a “when” than “if” scenario.

The movie itself did a ton of heavy lifting to set up a sequel. Hobbs & Shaw came complete with four mid-credits scenes, which offered updates on Helen Mirren‘s currently-incarcerated Magdalene Shaw as well as Ryan Reynolds‘ over-friendly CIA Agent Locke. Shortly after the film’s premiere, Johnson confirmed the extra scenes were there to “give you an idea of the new future team.” Then there’s the matter of the shadowy director of terrorist organization Eteon, whose identity we never learned.

Of course, it’s hard to say when Hobbs & Shaw 2 could possibly hit theaters. The latest entry in the prime Fast & Furious franchise saw its release pushed back an entire year due to the coronavirus outbreak. Justice is, unfortunately, very delayed, and it’s realistic that Hobbs & Shaw might not make it to the screen until late-2022 or beyond.

via Collider