In 2019, two prominent antagonists of The Fast and The Furious franchise Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham got together to star in a spin-off film titled  Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw. 

Johnson who first appeared in the 5th installment and Statham who was introduced in the 6th installment, reprised their roles as Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw, a US agent and a British mercenary who are forced to put their rival side and work together to stop a genetically enhanced supervillain.

Action star Jason Statham
Before Statham was cast as Deckard Shaw in The Fast and the Furious 6, he was originally considered for the role of his young brother, former SAS agent turned mercenary, Owen Shaw. The part ultimately went to actor Luke Evans. But Statham was not the only one who was in line to play the role. A well-known Marvel actor was also competing with The Transporter star for the coveted part.

David Tennant Challenged Jason Statham For A Key Role in The Fast and The Furious Franchise.

Actor David Tennant is popularly known for his on-screen character Dr. Who and his key role as Barty Crouch Jr. In the Harry Potter films. The actor is also a Marvel alum having starred as Kilgrave in the 2015 series Jessica Jones. The Scottish star was also reportedly shortlisted to play the antagonist in The Fast and the Furious Franchise in competition with Jason Statham who was also vying for the part.
David Tennant in Jessica Jones

According to sources, Statham was originally in talks to play the character of Owen Shaw, the antagonist in The Fast and The Furious 6. The role ultimately went to Luke Evans with Statham being relegated to playing the agent’s brother Deckard Shaw, who appears at the end of the 6th installment. As for Tennant, it is still unclear regarding why the actor was ultimately not considered for the part of Owen Shaw despite being in the mix.

Jason Statham Takes The Lead in The Expendables 4

Jason Statham is back with his iconic group of action colleagues for The Expendables 4 which is due to release in September 2023. This time, the star looks to be doing the heavy lifting as the main lead of the film. According to the Italian Stallion Sylvester Stallone,
“I heard it turned out pretty good. Jason Statham is 80 percent of it. He’s happy with it.”
Jason Statham and Sylvester Stallone in The Expendables
With the Rambo actor also confirming that he will be stepping down from the franchise after the film, it is a clear indicator of him passing on the torch to Jason Statham. Statham getting a bigger role in The Expendables 4 could prove to be an interesting twist in the narrative given that his character Lee Christmas is generally considered to be a hothead who often doesn’t work well with others, except with Stallone’s character. Giving Statham’s character Christmas a leadership role could be the beginning of an interesting character development for future films.

The Expendables 4 releases worldwide on September 22nd, 2023

Source: The Fast and The Furious Wiki