F9 director Justin Lin says Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw are still part of the Fast & Furious family. Hobbs and Shaw are both semi-recent additions to the Fast & Furious franchise, but they've become quite popular already. They exited the main franchise after appearing in The Fate of the Furious to create a spinoff movie, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. The movie was a box office hit and gave audiences much more of their chaotic rivalry.
Prior to the spinoff, Johnson's appearance as Hobbs in Fast Five helped make the Fast & Furious franchise even bigger. He appeared in four straight main installments and progressed to become an ally for Dominic Toretto's crew. Shaw was the villain of Furious 7 but was welcomed into Dom's family by the end of the eighth film, much to the surprise of some fans. Neither Hobbs nor Shaw is returning for F9, though, and their place in the main franchise's future has become one of the biggest looming Fast & Furious questions. They aren't confirmed to come back in any upcoming movies, but F9 director Justin Lin isn't ruling it out.
In an interview with Deadline, Justin Lin talked about F9 and his plans for Fast & Furious 10 and Fast & Furious 11. The final question turned the attention to Hobbs and Shaw. Lin was asked if either or both of the characters could return in future installments. The director wouldn't confirm any plans for them to appear in upcoming sequels, but he indicates they aren't off the table because both characters are part of the franchise's family.
I never really considered them gone, you know? To me, they’re still in this universe; they’re part of this family. Whatever we do, whenever we’re talking about the next chapter, I never feel like I have any restrictions, so I’m excited for what we build, and as we’re coming to this kind of final chapter of this saga, I think I’m excited to revisit…Any character, in any situation, is up for discussion.
With the Fast & Furious franchise racing towards a conclusion with a two-part ending, Lin's stance on where Hobbs and Shaw are at in this universe is quite important. He's directing both Fast & Furious 10 and Fast & Furious 11, so it will be up to him to wrap up this story. Bringing back Hobbs and Shaw would make sense considering how large of roles they've taken on in the franchise as of late. The biggest difficulty in pulling off a Hobbs and Shaw return could be getting the actors on board. Johnson and Vin Diesel had a fairly public feud after The Fate of the Furious. Their differences will need to be resolved if a reunion is going to happen.
Should Lin bring back either Hobbs or Shaw in the upcoming sequels, it could give him a chance to fix some issues fans had with their stories, especially when it came to Shaw. Lin introduced the character at the end of Fast & Furious 6 and revealed Shaw was responsible for killing Han in Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift. This immediately made fans despise Shaw, but the character was brought into Dom's crew by the end of The Fate of the Furious. Lin has admitted he doesn't fully understand this arc, but Han's return in F9 and beyond could improve the story if it leads to another interaction with Shaw.
Source: Deadline
