Spinoff sees Rock change track

The British action star says much of the on-screen chemistry between Hobbs and Shaw derives from how each of the characters sees himself as being much better than the other.

"Deckard Shaw thinks Hobbs is a bit of a slob. He's big and slow, and he dresses bad. He's like the opposite of how Deckard Shaw sees himself. They see each other as something that they don't want to be," Statham says.

Chris Morgan, who has been involved in the production of Fast and Furious series since the third installment, is again the scriptwriter for the film.

He wrote the story about Hobbs and Shaw out of his love for the two characters, and with a renewed desire to explore their backgrounds more deeply.

Morgan adds that since Fast Five, he and Johnson have been talking about how to expand the Fast and Furious franchise, and how to embody the image of the characters through storytelling.

"We have been daydreaming about what the other adventures might be, where Hobbs comes from, what things haunted him in the past, where we want him to go, and what kind of trials he might face," says Morgan.

Director David Leitch reveals that both Johnson and Statham played an active part in developing their own roles. And the effort Johnson put in this film didn't stop just there: the Hollywood superstar even named one of his dogs after his character.

"In Hollywood, you usually play a character once. But from Fast Five to eight (The Fate of the Furious), I have already played Hobbs four times," says Johnson. "It's a character that I love playing, and it's just so much fun. He doesn't have any superpowers, he doesn't talk like a superhero-but he's doing things like one. It's my great honor to play him, and I've had a lot of great relationships coming out of my experience with Fast and Furious."