Idris Elba is expected to join the cast of an upcoming ‘Fast and Furious’ movie spinoff, after entering negotiations for the part of the main villain in ‘Hobbs and Shaw’. The versatile acting star would join the likes of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and fellow British actor Jason Statham on the future project.
Amid ongoing rumours linking the ‘Luther’ star with the coveted James Bond secret agent role, Elba’s talented services continue to be in high demand. With an impressive catalogue of starring roles already to boast of, including ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ and Ridley Scott’s ‘Prometheus’, hooking up with the Johnson looks like another rating winner.
Johnson and Statham reprise their roles
‘Hobbs and Shaw’ would see Elba go up against former professional wrestler ‘The Rock’ in the role of Luke Hobbs and action-thriller genre stalwart Statham as Deckard Shaw, as the pair reprise their former roles from the ever-popular ‘The Fast and the Furious’ Film franchise. Shooting for the new film is scheduled to begin this autumn, with a release date into cinemas planned for July 2019.
‘Variety’ has reported that David Leitch of ‘Deadpool 2’ fame is expected to step into the director role, with the tried and tested hands of ‘Fast and Furious’ regular Chris Morgan once again moulding the screenplay.
First signing for Elba’s record label
Acting isn’t the only string to his bow though, as the 45-year-old Londoner retains a keen interest in hip-hop and dance music as well through his alter ego as the DJ called DJ Big Driis.
Having recently launched his own record label ‘7Wallace Music’, he has made his ambitious intentions clear by making the French-Cameroonian artist James BKS his first signing. That seems like a shrewd move on his part, as James BKS has previously produced for the likes of Diddy (aka Sean Combs / Puff Daddy) and Talib Kweli in the States.
Ambitious times for 7Wallace
Elba was full of praise for his new signing, telling ‘Billboard’ that he sees him as “a rare find.” He believes that “his hip-hop sensibilities transfer to the other music he makes,” besides being a “nice person to work with.” As a relatively small independent label, Elba said that “it's a huge move for 7Wallace.”
Far from resting on his laurels, The Daily Star has also reported that Elba has discussed the possibility of a collaboration with Jax Jones, the English record producer behind the 2016 hit single “You Don’t Know Me’ featuring Raye on vocals.
