By far, the most surprising strength of “The Fate Of The Furious” was the off-the-charts chemistry between professional tough guys Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson. Not only did the two men steal every scene they appeared in together — allegedly causing Vin Diesel to force Universal Pictures to remove their post-credits stinger clip from the movie — they also seemed to hint at a relationship that could expand beyond the main stories of the ‘Fast And The Furious‘ franchise. Would Universal consider spinning out these characters to their own movie? Dare they anger the Vin?
READ MORE: 20 Great Movie Star Feuds & The Films That Spawned Them
It turns out that the answer is an unequivocable yes. Hot off the presses at Deadline is this new report that Universal is working on a standalone movie for Statham and Johnson’s characters. Here’s what the article had to say:
Universal is huddling on a spinoff that will focus on the characters originated by Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham and most recently seen in “The Fate Of The Furious,” sources said. The franchise architects have said they might broaden the universe with spinoffs, and source said this is the one they are pursuing. This is in early stages, but they’ve met on the concept, which sources said will be scripted by Chris Morgan, the chief writer of the series that is hitting new heights with the eighth installment.
While this is sure to displease Diesel, this actually makes a great deal of sense of the franchise. Johnson, Statham, and Kurt Russell‘s Mr. Nobody would form a pretty excellent basis for a standalone series, one that shouldn’t step on the toes of the rest of the franchise too much (if at all). Maybe a heist film? Or some kind of ‘A-Team‘-esque group that goes around the world putting down terrorist insurgencies? This makes too much sense not to push forward on.