Jason Statham’s career filmography has been an electrifying mix of high-octane race to the top of the speed-induced franchises. While the Fast family grows ever larger in number and ambition, Statham has single-handedly maintained the audience’s need for speed by returning with films each more thrilling than the last.
It was then understood why he was a well-placed addition to the Fast & Furious saga mid-way through the franchise as the eccentric, off-the-rails, and potentially maniacal Deckard Shaw. But as time deepens the rift created after The Rock’s unceremonious exit, the Fast family manages to stay afloat while Statham caught in the middle tries to placate both parties.
Jason Statham’s Run in the Fast & Furious Franchise
Soon after his debut, Jason Statham’s Fast character quickly became a fan favorite, especially after his titular run in the spin-off film, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, featuring him alongside Dwayne Johnson. But everything since then has not been completely peaceful within the franchise with the ugliness and controversy spilling out into the public and dragging the cast of the films out in the open along with it.
With Jason Statham now caught between his loyalty to The Rock and his duty to the franchise, he is left to cater to his friend as well as reprise his role in the franchise’s final saga. And his troubles with managing both ends of the party have begun to grow more difficult with time as fans have dug out the actor’s early interviews where he was found heaping praises on his former co-star:
“He’s so cool to do an action sequence with because he’s such a physical sort of expert in what he does. He moves fluidly. He’s got great sort of judgment of time and space, so he’s not going to whack you in the head by mistake, which is a godsend. He’s extremely precise and he’s just so relaxed. He’s just a diamond to work with. He’s a 10 out of 10.”
Jason Statham will now once again reprise his role as the loose-cannon character, Deckard Shaw, in the final saga which many within the fandom have considered as a direct betrayal of the actor’s earlier alliance and loyalty to The Rock when the pair exited the franchise after The Fate of the Furious to star in Hobbs & Shaw together.
The Conflicted Return of Jason Statham in Fast X
Jason Statham had earlier stepped away from the franchise to star alongside The Rock, despite only appearing in two films in the Fast franchise before landing his very own spin-off. Recently, after The Rock vs. Vin Diesel battle reached a peak and the latter became incessant in his requests to get Dwayne Johnson to return for their final lap in Fast X, the debate drew to a spectacular close after Johnson pointed out Diesel’s manipulative behavior in bringing family into the matter and mentioning the death of Paul Walker.
Now that the drama has definitively pushed The Rock out of the picture, Jason Statham is left to choose to reprise his role within the mainstream continuity with no hope for a further sequel to the Hobbs & Shaw story. In Fast X, Statham’s Deckard Shaw will return alongside Sung Kang’s Han Lue.